Debt dodgers beware
The unpaid levies scandal has taken a comic turn around one well-known Eastern Suburbs building with an apartment owner who owes nearly $15,000 to his Owners Corporation scuttling in the…
Past Posts
These posts go all the way back to the raw versions of my Flat Chat columns for the Sydney Morning Herald’s Domain section over th e past 15 years. Some of the issues are specific to New South Wales, some are universal. There will almost certainly be differences in strata law between NSW and other states and countries and the laws have changed over that timespan too.
If you have a serious problem, contact the agencies (in Australia) listed in our contacts sections. Or contact a properly qualified and experienced strata lawyer. These columns should not be regarded as a substitute for professional legal advice.
Wheelchair access
Sometimes in this job you need the wisdom of Solomon – but mostly you only need to know when to the pass the buck. This week’s curly question is one…
Value of votes
There is a basic and fairly pragmatic principle that guides the running of strata plans and that is “user pays”. At the heart of this concept are your unit entitlements,…
Same Strokes for Different Folks
Another New Year and, it seems, the same old problems out there in Strataland. But you learn something new every day. My strata building has a number of tenants and…
Good Guys, Bad Guys
I’ve been taken to task by a couple of readers who challenge two of my assertions: that short-term rentals are a bad thing; and that investor owners are generally worse…
FlatRats 2005
We FlatChatters love living in apartments – so much so that we even put up with the cheats, chisellers, hedonists, misanthropes, selfish scumbags and assorted lying rodents who’ve attached themselves…
Levies cheats make a mint
Just when you think you’ve heard everything in the world of apartment living, another sleazy little scam comes to light. The latest trick by apartment parasites is to withhold their…
Company title fight
For those of you who think strata living is the pits, here is an example of examples of how things could be so much worse … for instance, if you…
Detested investors
I never fail to be amazed by readers stories about how the selfish schemers in this world make life difficult for the rest of us. Entries for our New Laws…
AGMs – Oh, no, not another election
For anyone who wants a say in the running of their building, the apartment block AGMs is your night of nights. It’s when your executive committee is elected and they’re…
Heartbreak Hotel
When we published our book Apartment Living, Sue Williams and I were accused of being conspiracy theorists because we highlighted the ways that residents of new apartment blocks can get…
Trouble In Paradise
You’d think life in a small strata complex of town houses near a beach was a little slice of the Aussie dream. But it has turned into a nightmare for…
Buyers Beware – The Government Doesn’t Care!
As of January this year, apartment buildings more than three storeys high were no longer covered by home warranty insurance, leaving the owners of new apartments highly exposed when it…
“You treat this place like a hotel …”
There’s a war being fought from building to building in Sydney right now, as councils try to curb the spread of executive rentals in apartment blocks. The laws are, in…
Balcony Ins and Outs
In recent years, Sydney has gone balcony crazy with residential blocks being designed with that “resort lifestyle” in mind. It’s a fairly recent trend. Contrast Harry Seidler’s Blues Point Tower…
Get Noticed!
If you truly want a sense of community in your building – or even if you just want the building to function effectively – the place to start is your…
The Chair vs The couch potato
When it comes to running apartment blocks there is an army of unsung heroes who put in the hours and, far from getting the gratitude they deserve, cop nothing but…
Sold My Chevvy to Pay the Levies
Once you’ve got over the shock of having complete strangers deciding where you can dry your laundry and how loud you can play your early Elvis Costello records, the biggest…