Why are we subsidising short-term lets?
As rents soar across Australia there is a quirk in tax law that can only be making matters worse Rents have gone up by 10 per cent or more in…
Jimmy-T
Owners battle illegal lets and crippling contracts
Queensland apartment owners are ramping up their battles to regain control over their homes on two fronts. One aspect is the fundamentally immoral (but entirely legal) practise of developers selling…
Forum: How can you define ‘reasonable’?
One of the most-seen weasel words in strata is “reasonable”. And it’s an often-visited grey area because it isn’t defined and can’t be. Even section 252 of the NSW strata…
ATO cracking down on dodgy holiday let claims
Danger, danger, holiday letting hosts! If you have been fudging the figures on your tax claims for your holiday home investments, the Australian Tax Office is coming after you. Actually,…
Podcast – all you need to know about levy debt
Last week saw the publication of a confected scandal of an elderly couple who’d been given bad advice, blaming their owners corporation for a special levy of $18,000 that had…
Online session on new strata reporting Hub
As of the beginning of this month, all strata schemes across NSW will need to report key information about their schemes and the people who run them using the new…
Forum: Is it a flat roof or a terrace floor?
Now, we’re going to need you to use your imagination for a minute here. You have a rooftop apartment – a penthouse, if you like – and it has a…
Podcast: Hidden issues, fake news and 40k listens
This week on the podcast we hop into the highly dubious story that appeared in the Sydney Sun-Herald this week about a poor old couple who are facing bankruptcy because…
Slim block wins top architecture award
by Jimmy Thomson What makes a fabulous apartment? Privacy, aspect, design and the way it can fit seamlessly into the neighbourhood, adding to the sense of community. That’s what the…
‘Cruel levies’ debt story a cheap shot at strata
COMMENT by Jimmy Thomson: The Sun-Herald article this week about the elderly couple who supposedly may be forced to sell their apartment or face bankruptcy could be used as a…
How Telcos can bully their way into unit blocks
Ever since the Federal Government embarked on its politically fraught and occasionally flawed efforts to introduce high-speed broadband to our cities, there has been a dubious tactic embraced by some…
Forum: Fix for holiday lets and affordability
Look, we know that with half of Sydney under water and the other half trapped at the airport, thoughts of holidays are far from our minds. But foreign tourists are…