Why everyone has gone quiet on over-crowding
The powers that be have gone curiously quiet on one of the major issues affecting apartment blocks: overcrowding. Where have all the pictures of rooms stacked with bunk beds, subdivided…
FORUM: Who pays when a common property pipe bursts?
If there’s one area of strata law in NSW that has always puzzled me, it’s the rule that says, while an owners corporation must pay for the damage caused to…
Podcast: Backpackers and levy dodgers with James Valentine
Every month or so, JimmyT takes Flat Chat to the airwaves as a guest on Afternoons with James Valentine on ABC 702. This week James and Jimmy crammed a lot…
Japanese jolt as Airbnb register bites hard
Last month held mixed blessings for Airbnb and all the other holiday letting (STHL) companies currently operating in NSW. They’d have been delighted that Labor’s sensible but potentially profit-blocking proposals…
What negative gearing changes could mean to you
With big changes to negative gearing on investment properties proposed by Labor, SUE WILLIAMS looks at what a change of government might mean to the value of your apartments. The…
Are these the worst strata laws in Australia?
After last week’s column about the best by-laws other states have, it’s only fair to mention the worst – those you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemies. Everyone in strata…
The Forum – Persecution starts with a pee
Are you a victim of strata committee bullying or are you just a “known troublemaker”? Even if you’re not, chances are that if you live in strata, you know someone…
Podcast – Buy a $1.2m penthouse on the Minister’s home turf
Fancy a 400 sqm penthouse with three bedrooms, three bathrooms, two parking spaces plus uninterrupted city and parkland views … for only $1.19 million? Interested? Why wouldn’t you be? This…
Are these the best strata laws in Australia?
Even given the many and great differences between our states’ strata laws, you might think it should be possible for us to distil the best of them into one cohesive…
Carping and complaining – the other side of naming and shaming
Last week we published this article about how strata committees naming, blaming and shaming residents with whom they disagree can lead to a whole raft of other problems. These range…
Strata insurance and the effects of defects
We all know that building defects aren’t covered by strata insurance. You didn’t? Well, now you do. Your strata insurance covers the scheme for accidents and incidents, not wear and…
Podcast: I spy with my little … camera
Sometimes it’s the silliness of strata that gets to you. That’s not to say we don’t take it seriously here, it’s just that you occasionally have to wonder at the…
In the Forum: Rushing to judge our new Minister
I was pulled up today by one of our Stratagurus, this week for jumping to conclusions about Kevin Anderson, our new man in charge of NSW strata. A Nationals MP…
Strata giant strides into ‘free advice’ territory
Those of you who still buy and read newspapers (bless your cotton socks) might have noticed a sticker the other day advertising a new strata advice service called Stratafaq. If…
Smoke alarm and rent rise shocks in Airbnb lets
Smoke alarms that either don’t exist or are covered up, higher rents for permanent residents and a new service that helps hosts find somewhere to stay when they are renting…
Named, shamed, defamed – how not to be sued
“Defamation is for rich people,” read a comment I recently saw on a website. It may be true, but then, in strata, the threat of legal action is brandished as…
In The Forum – Should lobby shoes get the boot?
Forget flammable cladding and crumbling walls, it’s the little things in strata that really get people het up. And it’s one of those multifaceted culture clashes where there’s no obvious…
Podcast: The joys of apartment living (no … really!)
A while ago I received a complaint from a reader that I had used the phrase “the very best in apartment living”. ‘Very best”, she argued, implied that there was…