From the Forum: Stray cats and rat runs
Some people like cats, others can’t abide them, but one Flatchatter is being driven nuts by some feral cats and, more to the point, the resident who feeds them. If…
by-laws
PODCAST: Airbnb curbs, pet ban by-law bounced and free money
We cover a lot of ground in this week’s chat with journalist and author Sue Williams, including two old favourites – Airbnb and pet bans – and a brand new…
More curbs on way for Airbnb hosts as WA plans register and by-laws
Barriers are going up across Australia in an effort to curb the out-of-control spread of illegal holiday lets, with both NSW and now WA considering strata scheme by-law bans, mandatory…
From The Forum: Dog-minding in a one-bedder
We are all for the entrepreneurial spirit, here at Flat Chat … except when it comes to turning your apartment into a business that has a detrimental effect on other…
Flat Chat Wrap #3 – best and worst times to buy, bullied by by-laws & lawn parking
Is this the best time to buy an new apartment or just the worst time to sell? And what you should look out for in offers that seem to be…
Flat Chat Wrap #1 – pet bans, bad by-laws, crazy neighbours and Airbnb laws
A chat about all the most interesting, strangest and most controversial items on on Flat Chat this week. In Episode 1, Jimmy discusses pet bans, undoing bad by-laws, crazy neighbours…
ROUNDUP: Paint or varnish? Another strata cover-up
Every so often I get the feeling that there must be a strand of DNA that makes people both nit-picking and want to live in strata. Take the post from…
Roundup: Strata chair blocks Airbnb by-law vote
Can anyone give us a definitive answer on whether or not it’s OK to pass by-laws banning Airbnb? We ask because this week we received an email from a Flatchatter…
When ‘common sense’ makes no sense at all
Common sense, that good old standby we apply to any dilemma, however complex, is the thinking equivalent of comfort food: it makes you feel better now but causes problems later.…
Podcast: Ep 3 of the Wrap looks at buying and selling
Is this the best time to buy an new apartment or just the worst time to sell? And what you should look out for in offers that seem to be…
Help! What do we do about our no-pets by-laws?
Reports that the NSW Tribunal has once again overturned a no-pets by-law has sent a ripple of concern through Strataland – especially among blocks that in the past decided the…
Beware the ratchet effect of bad by-laws
A ratchet is a brilliantly simple piece of engineering: easy to turn in one direction – almost impossible to go the other way. The “ratchet effect” when applied to by-laws,…
Back to the bad old days as by-laws balked
I hate to say it, but it seems we’re heading back to the bad old days of the CTTT when it comes to our strata tribunal (NCAT). According to an…
Pets and apartments – an interview
A couple of weeks ago our friends at Pet Insurance Australia sent us some questions about pet ownership in strata schemes, to form the basis for a feature they’ll be…
New Airbnb laws? Don’t hold your breath waiting
Psst! Don’t tell anybody but, you know those new laws about short-term holiday letting that everybody got their knickers in a twist about? Well, the rumour is that they’re not…
Business booms in blocking illegal Airbnbs
What would most Flatchatters change first about their apartment blocks if they had three magic wishes? Make it harder for people to let out their entire flat through Airbnb, was…
Roundup: When business bags your parking spots
The often irreconcilable differences between strata residents and commercial operators in the same scheme are to the fore in the Flat Chat Forum this week, with two tales with sadly…
Balcony smokers in your top three strata gripes
The results of our recent poll are in – not as definitive as a general election but more accurate than Peter Dutton’s guesstimate of his support – and there is…