Forum is working … after a ‘Lost Weekend’
The Flat Chat Forum reno has taken place … kind of … almost. The reason it all looks exactly the same as before is becasue it is. At first, the…
From the Forum: Airbnb budget by-law and four reno posers
We’re taking moment before our Forum questions this week to urge you not to miss the opportunity to get a cut-price, off-the-peg by-law to prevent Airbnb and other short-term holiday…
PODCAST: The buzz on strata – it’s locusts V bees
Are you a locust or a bee? Those are the divisions appearing between residents in Australia as many of us move from the more acquisitive, self-centred lifestyle typified by the…
Defects and maintenance on OCN meeting agenda
Members of strata committees concerned about defects or maintenance, or owners aspiring to join their committees, or even ordinary owners just hoping to keep their committees honest, should keep a…
Avoiding the fall-outs from flatpack furniture
Would you pay someone to assemble your flat-pack furniture? Is a trip to Ikea a big enough dent in an otherwise stress-free weekend without adding searches for lost screws and…
How to tell golden oldies from busted blocks
Last week we discussed the kind of surveys you need when you buy a new apartment. But what about older apartments? It’s not as if flats built more than 10…
Holiday letting register – new rules need real teeth
Last Wednesday (September 11) saw the closing date for submissons to Planning NSW regarding the propsed Code of Coduct, Holiday Letting Register and Fire Safety Regulations for short-term holiday lets. …
From the Forum: False economy in dodging legal fees
There’s been some discussion about whether or not you can take a neighbour to court for compensation when their noisy renovation work has driven out your tenants. You can take…
PODCAST: The death of parking and student flats for grown-ups
This week the Flat Chat Wrap podders look at the ridiculous cost of parking spaces, the new forms of flat-sharing and we finish off our chat with Jane Hearn about…
Stayz and Airbnb in war of words on register
Do you think online holiday letting agencies Airbnb and Stayz are different sides of the same coin? Well settle in for a verbal joust between the main players in the…
New apartments: How to select your defects detectives
Between flammable panel-clad high-rises, and crumbling apartment blocks, surveyors and certifiers have had a rough trot in the media in recent months. But if you are in a brand new…
From the Forum: fake grassroots campaign fails to catch fire
Our post on the short-term letting fire regulations sparked a fiery discussion (oops, sorry!). And that was before we even discovered that Airbnb hosts had already swamped Planning NSW with…
Building manager filled secret unit block ‘cave’ with stolen goods
Everybody has a bad building manager story, but the man in charge of four blocks in Sydney’s Jacksons Landing surely takes the biscuit. Jaden Hati, 42, built himself an ‘Aladdin’s-cave’…
PODCAST: Loopholes and pitfalls in new holiday letting rules
Just when you thought it was safe to dip your toe into the Airbnb discussion, it turns out the new laws are not what they seem. The 180-day cap on…
Jail time plan for illegal Airbnb hosts
Here’s an interesting thought. Talking to Owners Corporation Network deputy chair Jane Hearn the other day about who should run NSW’s register of short-term holiday lets (STHLs), she said, why…
Mediation and misplaced expectations of a win
We hear a lot about mediation and conciliation in apartment living disputes – but what do the terms mean? Many apartment residents go to mediation thinking they are going to…
Celebrate Dog Day by adopting rather than shopping for a pet
Did you know last Monday (August 26) was International Dog Day? No, me neither. But last week the media office for NSW Minister for Local Government Shelley Hancock sent out…
From the Forum: Zombie proxies and dead levies
Here’s a question that becomes more relevant as increasing numbers of oldies move into strata … and then pass on. Obviously, the petty politics of strata schemes are the last…