Residents say government has left them to deal with combustible cladding alone

The government will open applications for a concessional loan scheme for private residences built with the material in the middle of the year, but for Deakin's Ambassador Apartments complex, waiting to access the scheme wasn't a viable option.

"We were in a position where we had to move pretty quickly, otherwise, we would have become basically uninsurable because of the risks associated with the cladding," executive committee chair Stephen Ellis said.

"We engaged with the government early on to try to find out what support they would provide for us and quite frankly, there was none."

The ACT government does offer a rebate of up to $20,000 for testing and assessment of private buildings, which the Deakin apartment owners accessed.

So far $69,012 has been paid out in rebates for testing of private buildings, with the scheme open until December.

Removal works at the Ambassador complex are underway, with owners forking out between $12,000 to $70,000.

President of the ACT branch of the Owners Corporation Network Gary Petherbridge said this had happened in multiple apartment buildings in Canberra.

"The action has been so slow from the government that some of the complexes have actually had to go and act before [there were] any offers," he said.

An ACT government spokesperson said owners corporations who have taken out commercial loans to remediate cladding already "may apply to transfer their loan across to the concessional loan scheme".

"This will be assessed on a case by case basis."

But Mr Petheridge and Mr Ellis both said they were unimpressed by the government's proposal for a concessional loan, which would still accumulate interest, and that fees associated with building approvals will still apply.

In NSW, people in the same circumstances have been able to apply for a 10-year interest-free loan from the state government.

The interest rate will be fixed at the prevailing 10-year ACT Government borrowing rate at the start of the loan scheme, currently at around 2-3 per cent.

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"Which is well below the interest rates charged by commercial lenders," the ACT government spokesperson said.

"Owners corporations can include [regulatory fees for building approvals] in their concessional loan rather than need to raise cash to pay them upfront."

Mr Petheridge said owners were paying tens of thousands of dollars in some instances "to rectify a problem that existed because the government didn't certify the buildings as being safe in the first place".

Mr Ellis said the financial impacts were varied among owners, but some were taking a real hit.

"There are plenty of retired people here so they don't have access to a pool of funds that they can just call on," he said.

And they certainly can't just go out and work longer hours or do another job to raise the money, so it has been difficult for some people."

The government has removed cladding from 16 of its buildings, with seven remaining, at an estimated cost of $17 million.

The Owners Corporation Network will co-host a public forum on the issue at Canberra Southern Cross Club Woden on Tuesday from 6pm.

ACT Housing Minister Rebecca Vassarotti will attend, alongside Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee.

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