It took until yesterday (30 December) for residents of 21 units in Blue Haven Stage 4 to be given interim access to hot water, after the building's hot water system failed on Christmas Eve.

"Why didn't the interim solution go in on Christmas Eve?" asks Topaz Conway, who had family staying in one of the units with her 94 year old mother over Christmas.

The interim solution gives the residents access to hot water betweeen 8am and 6pm, until the necessary parts for the repairs arrive.

Until this was put into place yesterday, the only access provided for residents to shower was in one vacant unit in another building, with around 30 people having to walk there to share one bathroom.

"This was not suitable for my mother, who has limited mobility, and was not practical for most," says Ms Conway.

Experienced with the ‘urgent repair’ requirements for strata management, including for hot water services to be restored within 24-48hrs, she finds it hard to believe there aren't similar requirements for independent living units given they operate in a similar way.

"The thing that is most disturbing is that as far as I could tell from talking to the manager there was no contingency plan," says Ms Conway.

"The fact that I had to intervene and advocate for residents to the COO to find an interim solution is not right. As soon as he heard of the situation, this interim solution was introduced."

She says the situation has been particularly stressful over Christmas, which should have been a relaxing period, and is the result of poor management practices.

"Why they chose to repair vs replace the system (which has had issues in the past 2-3 yrs), when apparently the part is too old and can’t get replacement part, is irresponsible."

A statement from Kiama Council says, "Kiama Council and Blue Haven apologises for the inconvenience caused by the breakdown.

"Blue Haven management will review the system failure and associated contingency processes as part of their operations and asset management."