ICAC Operation Rosny LIVE updates: Former AFP officer, private investigator Shane De Kauwe to give evidence

The balconies have cracks visible from the street. The tank meant to supply the extensive fire sprinkler system cannot hold water without leaking. And the lifts, along with the glass front doors, have a habit of getting stuck.

But at Riviera, a six-building apartment complex on the edge of the Parramatta River, what is most burnt into the minds of some current and former residents are the German cockroaches: the ones that live exclusively indoors, are a fraction of the size of regular species and breed at extraordinary rates. They made themselves so at home they destroyed the electronics of dishwashers and air-conditioning units.

During his blustery, foul-mouthed appearance at the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption last week , the disgraced fugitive developer made reference to the blocks his since-liquidated company Toplace built in 2018 – when owners launched legal action over defects.