A displaced renter could be out of pocket by thousands of dollars after a fire ripped through a building next door forcing him to stay in a hotel and pay $270 a night.
Tam Campbell was uprooted from his studio apartment following the massive blaze near his building on Randle Street in Surry Hills, Sydney, on Thursday.
He has been forced to take up residence at a hotel and said he believed his costs would be covered by his unit’s strata management.
Tam Campbell (pictured) said the strata management for his unit has said it will not pay for his emergency accommodation
Mr Campbell was displaced from his studio apartment last Thursday after a blaze ravaged the neighbouring heritage-listed building in Surry Hills (pictured, the aftermath)
A stunned Mr Campbell has since learned strata will not cover the costs of his emergency accommodation because he is a tenant, and not the owner of the unit.
Some 120 firefighters were called in to battle the blaze at the seven-storey building when it broke out in Sydney last week.
Mr Campbell who has lived next door to the building for more than 10 years had left his unit just minutes before it caught alight.
He then watched in horror as the fierce blaze took hold – hoping the block of units where he lived would not be destroyed.
After the blaze was finally extinguished on Friday morning Mr Campbell’s building remained intact but had sustained extensive damage.
He was then barred from going back to his home – except for when a police officer accompanied him to pick up bare essentials.
Since then he has been forced to stay at a nearby hotel where he pays $270 a day.
‘I’m being told I won’t be able to claim hotel accommodation as I’m a tenant not an owner,’ Mr Campbell told Daily Telegraph.
‘My understanding is that body corporate are just putting owners up and I just don’t want to be out of pocket.’
Mr Campbell who has no family living nearby wants to stay close to his place so he can quickly go there to pick up more of his things when possible.
Mr Campbell who has lived next door to the old hat factory on Randle Street for more than 10 years had left his unit just minutes before the fire started
He added he knows of other tenants forced out of their homes in the neighbourhood that are also on struggle street.
‘One tenant told me he couldn’t even afford a single night at a hotel,’ Mr Campbell said.
But Mr Campbell said he hopes his home and contents insurance might be able to cover his hotel costs, but it is still uncertain.
His real estate will refund him rent paid in advance, he added.
Tenants in NSW are not obligated to keep paying rent after a disaster like this if it renders their home unsafe to return to.
But he also wants strata to change its mind about supporting him.
Mr Campbell said he has no idea when he will return home and said he owes $1,620 to the hotel.
Daily Mail Australia contacted Mr Campbell for comment.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk