Abandoned car or parking madness?
When is an car abandoned? When it’s left in a unit block tenant’s space, its number plates removed? OK, but what if it is covered with a tarpaulin? The tenant…
Past Posts
These posts go all the way back to the raw versions of my Flat Chat columns for the Sydney Morning Herald’s Domain section over th e past 15 years. Some of the issues are specific to New South Wales, some are universal. There will almost certainly be differences in strata law between NSW and other states and countries and the laws have changed over that timespan too.
If you have a serious problem, contact the agencies (in Australia) listed in our contacts sections. Or contact a properly qualified and experienced strata lawyer. These columns should not be regarded as a substitute for professional legal advice.
Strata reform hits a speed bump
The revolution has been postponed. The changes to strata law in NSW that were due to hit the statute books in July – meaning they should be before Parliament right…
DIY strata – for the half who don’t have managers
There was a time when the management of strata was all smoke and mirrors. Strata managers, it seemed to many owners, moved in mysterious ways, their wonders to perform. And…
How to find the perfect flat
I was called in to the James Valentine show on 702 today to do a segment about how to find – and get – the right rental property for you.…
Drugs, prostitution, overcrowding: why a Sydney building hit back
The following letter was sent from Regis Towers in response to a series of questions I asked about the alleged ‘scandal’ of tenants having their access keys cancelled because of…
Tenants locked out as block cracks down on overcrowding and crime
Owners in Regis Towers, the building where beefed up security has left tenants locked out of their homes, say they were forced to take action because of prostitution, drug dealing,…
Parking thieves face $550 fines … but so do bad parkers
Opportunist ‘parking thieves’ who grab unit block parking spots while they shop or commute to work could face fines of $550 when local council parking officers are allowed to patrol…
How landlords could end up in hot water
More than half the residents of strata are renters, meaning that there a lot of buildings around that are almost totally tenanted. Not that there’s anything wrong with that ……
Sinned against or strata sinner?
The following missive from an unhappy strata owner has landed on our desk and it contains just about every issue under the sun – from illegal parking to murder (literally)…
Goodbye, Minister
We all kind of knew it would happen sooner or later. Anthony Roberts was not only the best Fair Trading minister this state has seen in … well … possibly…
No safe wriggle room for unit blocks with pools
Swimming pools, and the need to protect small children from their magnetic attraction, are a highly emotive topic. As new national figures reveal an increase of nearly 50 percent in…
Proxy farmers fire up in face of vote drought
The backlash has started against curbs on proxy farming – the highly dubious practice of strata committee office-bearers using their privileged access to strata rolls to ‘harvest’ the votes of…