Australian Greens: Cladding concessional loan details announced

To support owners corporations with the upfront costs of rectifying combustible cladding on private buildings, the ACT Government has announced the concessional loan details of the Private Buildings Cladding Scheme.

Eligible owners corporations participating in the ACT Government’s Private Buildings Cladding Scheme can apply for a low interest rate concessional loan from 29 August 2022 for the removal and replacement of combustible cladding.

Lannock Strata Finance will administer the Private Building’s Cladding Scheme concessional loan on the ACT Government’s behalf, providing a stable and reliable financial loan so owners corporations can begin remediating their cladding.

“The ACT Government takes the safety of Canberra residents seriously and we are committed to reducing the risk of potentially combustible cladding on residential apartment buildings in the ACT,” Minister for Sustainable Building and Construction Rebecca Vassarotti said.

“We recognise the challenges faced by apartment building owners to address combustible cladding without assistance, which is why we have provided financial support firstly with our testing and assessment rebate scheme and now with a concessional loan scheme to assist with rectification work.”

74 applications from 73 owners corporations were received for the testing and assessment rebate of the Private Building’s Cladding Scheme. 62 applications have been approved, six deemed ineligible, two applications were withdrawn and four are still being assessed.

Eligible owners corporations who have participated in the scheme’s initial testing and assessment phase can now apply for a concessional loan with:

• a fixed interest rate at the cost of Governing borrowing, which is currently 4.2%;
• a loan repayment period of 10 years, which starts after works are completed;
• no application or other loan fees;
• individual loans generally up to $15 million per owners’ corporation; and
• no penalties for repaying the loan early.

Applications will be open for 18 months, allowing eligible owners corporations until 29 February 2024.

Costs covered under the concessional loan will include the cladding remediation design and works, any ‘make good’ works necessary due to cladding remediation, and regulatory fees, such as building approvals.

For further detail about the concessional loan, or to sign up to be notified when applications open, visit Major Projects Canberra.