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,…
rules
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…
21 strata law changes you really need to know
By Jimmy Thomson There are more than 90 changes to the strata laws that come into force in NSW on November 30. Here are the 21 that will affect you…
Forum Roundup: sorting out the strataphobes
Sometimes you have an idea that is so brilliantly simple you know it doesn’t have a snowball’s chance of ever seeing the light of day. I was thinking the other…
Roundup: Law and order – strata style
You’ve probably heard that the new strata laws will do away with the silly rule that meant, strictly speaking, you had to get a special resolution by-law to hammer a nail…
Strata regs: The legals have landed
The new strata regulations are with us and it is interesting to see what kind of flesh they have put on the bones of the impending strata law reforms. Regulations are…
Strata law reforms delayed … again
Apartment owners fearing they will be forced by neighbours to sell their homes to developers, or dreading the tread of parking wardens in their car parks, have been given a…