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 familiar themes.

In both, the commercial operators have decided that that the words ‘visitor’ and ‘staff’ mean the same thing when it comes to parking.

In one case, the commercial operators were taken to NCAT where they promised to be good and not take up the visitor car park any more.

But as soon as the Tribunal was over, they were at it again, and abused any residents who dared to take “their” parking spaces for even a minute to unload their groceries.

Even worse, in another building they gathered enough votes to take over the running of the committee and then put up “staff parking only” signs in visitor spots.

Is it legal? Absolutely not. If nothing else, it’s in breach of their planning DA.  But it’s the owners who have to make the running when their unwelcome commercial neighbours decide that their needs are greater than anyone else’s.

You can read more about that HERE.

In another example of selfish indifference to either their neighbours or strata law, we hear about a landlord who doesn’t care that his bathroom is leaking through the wall to the adjacent flat.

It seems this paragon of ignorant self-interested is concerned that he might lose some rent when the wall is being repaired. Off to the Tribunal with you! we say HERE.

How do you write a detailed application to NCAT when you don’t want to hire a lawyer, one Flatchatter asks.  Sir Humphrey steps in with invaluable advice.

But then, we wonder, should you be doing this yourself if you even have to ask that question?  That’s HERE.

Can you have too much security?  What do the firies, ambos and cops do when there’s an emergency and they are confronted by a locked gate?  Secure key safes with special access codes aren’t really the answer.

In fact the solution, it turns out, is remarkably simple.  That’s HERE.

And finally, what happens when ancient by-laws under which owners granted themselves exclusive right to expand into their loft spaces turn out to be invalid.

Do you just pass the same by-laws again … or do you start from scratch and do it properly, with compensation and maybe even back rent paid to the owners corp?  That’s HERE.

There are stacks of other questions on the Forum and there will be even more by the time you’ve read this.

And if you know someone in strata who doesn’t read Flat Chat, please pass this on.