OCN update for strata on Covid work rules
The Owners Corporation Network (OCN), the peak body for apartment owners and strata committees, has compiled an invaluable advisory on what NSW strata schemes and residents can and can’t do…
rules
Podcast 95: pet ban block, websites and a new book
The big strata news of this week stopped us in our tracks. The NSW Court of Appeals has overturned a decision by the strata tribunal (NCAT) which, earlier this year,…
ROUNDUP: What’s the rule on catch-all by-laws?
There’s an interesting twist on the question of by-laws and rules that came in the other day – can the owners corp create enabling by-laws that allow them to create…
From the Forum: Can we cancel holiday let keys?
This week, a Flatchatter wants to know if their by-law, in support of their council zoning, is adequate for keeping Airbnb out of their building, and if they can use…
PODCAST: Defect loans, Airbnb rules and sneaky sex in the spa
It’s a real mixed bag in this week’s Flat Chat Wrap podcast – finance, Airbnb and sneaky sex. Sue Williams and I start our dissection of the week’s strata news…
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,…
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…
Climate shame when strata airs its dirty laundry
It seems that energy prices and the belief (or not) that there’s such a thing as global warming have the power to topple Prime Ministers. The fossil fuel versus renewables…
Why pre-sale renos could be bad planning
For any prospective home buyer with a skerrick of visual imagination, a rundown home is a massive canvas on which to express themselves. That might apply to apartments even more…
Strata charges – a question of cheques and balances
How much can you – or should you – trust the professionals who are contracted by your owners corporation? Bearing in mind the major factors at play here – owners’…
Roundup: Fixing a hole in the strata-sphere
AS we have said many times in the past, there is a great big hole in the otherwise comprehensive advice offered by Fair Trading to strata residents. We have all…
Are these the right rules for your committee?
You can’t expect people to play by the rules if they don’t know what the rules are. So we have devised a code of conduct for anyone that might want…