Podcast: Premiums soar thanks to sins of the past
We admit we can get a little city-centric here at Flat Chat so last weekend it was good to get out of the urban jungle and find out what’s happening…
fire
Flatchatter saves $25k on fire safety ‘blackmail’
A Flatchatter has just saved his strata scheme $25,000 – 70 per cent of their fire safety inspection bill – after responding to what they felt were threats and blackmail…
Don’t be alarmed – there’s a burnt toast by-law
Fire alarms can go off for all sorts of reasons that have nothing to do with fire. It could be smoke from seriously burnt toast meeting an over sensitive alarm,…
Owners win battle over Biowood cladding
Apartment owners battling to have combustible cladding replaced on their buildings have won a landmark legal victory – giving hope to the thousands more facing similar dangers, writes Sue Williams.…
Call for ban on balcony barbies … but not here
The heat has been turned up on balcony barbecues as a cause of fires in apartments … but in a part of the world where you might least expect it.…
New fire safety regs on strata webinar agenda
You guys are getting into the technology, big time. Apparently more than 200 strata residents took part in the Owners Corporation Network (OCN) webinar on Airbnb and short term letting…
Burning issue – OCN seminar on new fire regs
There are few phrases that send more of a chill thorough the hearts of strata owners than the words “fire safety”. Whether you’re in an old building badly in need…
It’s Airbn-BS as families are ‘priced out by red tape’
Even in this crazy, mixed-up, high speed, disrupted world in which we live, some things never change. One of them, sadly, is Airbnb’s determination to tug at our heartstrings by…
From the Forum: fire regs, air cons and limits on tenant numbers
Particularly at this time when half the country seems to be going uip in flames, fire safety seems to be more relevant than ever. So imagine you are in a…
Flammable cladding crisis solved – phoenix it!
The fire engineer who approved the Neo 200 building in Melbourne – the most recent high-rise cladding fire in Australia – has gone to court to try to have his…
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…
Flat Chat Wrap #39 – Loopholes and pitfalls in new Airbnb regs
Just when you thought it was safe to dip your toe into the Airbnb discussion, it turns out the proposed new laws are not what they seem. The 180-day cap…