Managing the managers
Continuing our series on what to look out for at your first AGM, one of the major decisions you may have to make is whether or not to have a…
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.
Don’t buy bad by-laws
Last week we explained why the first AGM of a few building may sound like a tedious bore but holds the key to your happiness and peace of mind for…
Have your say or pay and pay
Meetings are boring and owners corporation annual general meetings can be more so than most. However, if you have just handed over your savings and your first-time home owners grant…
AGMs – The buck starts here
Meetings are boring and owners corporation annual general meetings can be more so than most. However, if you have just handed over your savings and your first-time home owners grant…
Do neighbours need to know about new loo?
Here at Flat Chat we are used to being in the poo over one thing or another but never quite so literally as with this recent inquiry. QUESTION: Are there…
Too close for comfort
It can be hard enough keeping a lid on bad behavior in your own apartment block but what do you do if the building next door is the problem and…
Bye-bye to by-laws
When is a by-law not a by-law? When the Consumer Trader and Tenancy Tribunal decides that it doesn’t really matter, that’s when. Evidence for this is contained in CTTT’s own…
Smoke on the strata
Here’s an interesting development on the non-smoking front. Owners in the building in the CBD that won the case banning smoking in an apartment because tobacco fumes were leaking into…
Up the garden path
In these straitened times, many buildings are looking at ways of saving money. Some are sensible economies, other savings are merely penny-pinching and corner cutting that isn’t going to do…
Do your block online
Given that every strata development has a different combination of by-laws, facilities and local council laws, wouldn’t it be valuable, asks one reader, for us to have our own websites?…
Minding Their Business
What do you do when one of your neighbours decides to exploit shared amenities to run a business? Whether it’s personal training in your gym, turning your home into a…
Bring back the clamp
These are really just “edited highlights” from Flatchat readers’ responses. To read the original article and readers responses in full, please click on this link http://www.flatchat.com.au/archives/41 A few weeks ago,…