Bentley Suites owners considering options after testy meeting about fire safety

Residents were recently told about the discovery of steel beams at the Forrest apartment complex that allegedly breached building codes because of "greatly reduced fire resistance levels".

Engineers found the beams would be resistant to fire for just 10 to 15 minutes, rather than the 120 minutes that was required at the time they were installed, according to a letter sent to residents in late November by the building's executive committee.

A general meeting was held with residents on December 20 to discuss the possibility of taking legal action against the ACT government.

The November letter alleged the ACT government had negligently approved plans for the building without proper scrutiny.

A spokesman for ACT Strata Management Services said owners had voted to act on the issue but he could not comment further on what would be done.

"I can't really say much until I've done the minutes and had them approved by the executive committee," the spokesman said.

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It is understood owners resolved to lay out their concerns in a letter to the government, but stopped short of endorsing any further action until other questions were answered.

A spokeswoman for Access Canberra has previously said the government would be looking into the issue.

"Access Canberra takes building safety seriously, however we can confirm that no complaints have been received by Access Canberra at this time in relation to this building," she said earlier in December.

A report written on behalf of the Bentley building's executive committee, dated November 22, 2017, outlined how the alleged failings were found earlier this year during maintenance work in the underground car park.

"Opinions of a structural engineer have been received that the square hollow steel columns and steel beams supporting the building above appear to be non-compliant," read the report.

"In a best case scenario [it was] estimated that some of the columns and beams may reach a fire resistance level of 30 minutes. The BCA requirement at the time of the design of the structure was 120 minutes."

Fire resistance level is a measure of a material's structure and integrity defined within the Building Code of Australia.

Apartment owner Peter Fiegehen has previously described news of the potential breaches as "very concerning".

"The Bentley Suites must be about 15 years old and it is astonishing that this has only been discovered now," he said earlier in December.

Given the building was in a "high-demand, premium location", Mr Fiegehen said one solution could be to demolish the Bentley Suites and re-develop the land, avoiding a lengthy legal tussle in the process.