New Aussie homes set to be bulldozed in 'sinking suburb'

A total of 18 "sinking and cracked" homes are reportedly set to be bulldozed in a newly-built Aussie suburb, just over seven years since residents first moved in.

Developer Lendlease said it will demolish 18 homes in the troubled Jordan Springs neighbourhood, in Sydney's west, that were all found to have major defects. The issues range from sinking foundations, serious cracks in internal structures to warped roads and driveways.

Total of 18 homes to be bulldozed in 'sinking suburb'

Built by Lendlease in 2015, with residents moving into homes in 2017, the developer said it became aware of the damages at Jordan Springs East in 2018, and since then had already bulldozed two properties over issues it said didn't meet its "own internal standards".

The $600 million site, dubbed "Sydney's sinking suburb", consists of over 900 homes.

When it was first made aware of the damages in 2018, the building giant blamed the cracking and subsidence issues on the landfill used during construction not being sufficiently compacted, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Residents left in limbo

Since then, residents say they've been left in limbo, wondering what will come of their homes. One resident said the earth had dropped “more than a foot” at their house, another said he had "used two tonnes of soil just to fill the sinkage".

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In 2020, a compensation scheme was established with the Commissioner for Fair Trading, with residents given the option of either having their homes fixed or bought back. Since then, Lendlease has repurchased a total of 58 homes, 18 of which are now set to be bulldozed entirely.

The company said demolishing the properties was a voluntary move and it hadn't been ordered to do so by any authority.

"Since becoming aware of the ground settlement issues, we've been working with affected owners and administering a compensation scheme to address the impacts," managing director of communities at Lendlease, Ranisha Clarke told The Daily Telegraph.

"As part of the scheme, a number of homes were repurchased from owners, and some of these will now be removed as they do not meet our own internal quality standards. We’re continuing to stand by our customers and we’re committed to providing ongoing support as we work through the process."

Work on demolishing the houses is set to commence in February and will be completed by the end of the year.

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