There are two curious questions that we’ve never fielded before in this week’s Forum. The first is quite simple: should someone buy a serviced apartment if they plan to live in it.
And the other is whether it’s morally or even legally right to deny voting to owners because they haven’t paid their levies on time.
On the first question, the block has probably been approved by the local authority on the basis that it would be exclusively for holiday or short-term business rents.
For a variety of reasons, it would have been cheaper to build and therefore less expensive to buy the apartment.
So what would happen if you lived there anyway? If the whole building was subject to a management rights agreement, they would come after you for their share of the rent.
If it was casually let and managed by an outside company, they might dob you in for taking business away from them, or just out of spite.
Either way you could be forced to leave because you were not using the property in the way for which it was given approval.
You could masquerade as renters, but how long would that last before you had to move out and sell or rent somewhere else? Tell us what you think HERE.
On the question of the voting rights of owners being removed when they are behind with their levies, our Flatchatter has put up a compelling case that this is both harsh and unconscionable.
Or does it come into the category of “cruel but fair”? You be the judge HERE.
Forum Updates
- Is roof waterproofing the latest strata scam? That’s HERE.
- Committee member throwing things at residents. That’s HERE.
- Can the secretary keep committee votes secret? That’s HERE.
How to ask and answer questions
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