Rents rollercoaster as Airbnbs abandoned
Rents in Sydney’s suburbs have been on a rollercoaster for the past few months, with the obvious culprit being the Covid-19 pandemic and all its side-effects. But while some areas…
Covid-19 in strata
Strata blocks have been likened to vertical cruise ships when it comes to their potential for speading the disease. Here are stories that represent our coverage of the issues. NB: Some of the Covid-19 references are in subsidiary parts of the story and some facts and figures may have been overtaken by more recent events.
Podcast 96: Pets, rents and new age steam trains
People who don’t care about pets in apartments shouldn’t switch off just yet, regardless of how bored you are with the whole issue. It has implications for everyone in apartments,…
Loneliness of the high rise residents left behind
Is there such a thing as “undercrowding”? There may well be with the centres of some of our biggest cities turning into ghost towns as Covid-19 restrictions bite, workers flee…
Forum: Garden gate-gate opens a can of words
It’s good to get a result in short order, especially as strata disputes can drag on for months, if not years. Last week a Flatchatter wrote to us that a…
Podcast 95: pet ban block, websites and a new book
The big strata news of this week stopped us in our tracks. The NSW Court of Appeals has overturned a decision by the strata tribunal (NCAT) which, earlier this year,…
Podcast 94: Tax shock and giving loans some credit
It’s a bit of a Budget special on Flat Chat this week, if only because we are talking about money. Specifically we are discussing the personal taxes that you probably…
Virtual vendors go online to combat covid concerns
As we emerge from lockdowns and self-imposed enforce isolation, Zoom-based meetings and working from home have affected our lives in strange and unexpected ways. And, according to this story in…
Desperate resident gets the covid reno runaround
Living with renovations in your apartment block isn’t easy at the best of times, but we put up with it because, in the give and take of strata living, some…
Podcast: Now you can read it as well as listen
This week’s podcast is all about wheel-clamping, email privacy and the amazing legacy of the Sydney Olympics athletes’ village. But one of the biggest pieces of news this week is…
Five stages of bathroom renovation grief
It’s been about a month since we decided to renovate our 20-year-old bathrooms and we are going through something that is akin to the five stages of grief. Except, instead…
Podcast 91: Crackdown on dud developers hits home
We have one of our longest ever Flat Chat Wrap podcasts this week, but it’s all good so brace yourselves, pace yourselves and buckle up for some interesting material from…
Wins for Vic residents as lockdown renos halted
There have been two pieces of very rare good news for Victorian strata owners and residents, in the past week. The state government has extended the defect claims period for…