Booked: Academic who discovered 85 percent of our blocks are defective
Over the past few weeks, usually in the context of our crumbling apartment blocks, we have frequently heard that a fairly recent UNSW study found that 85 per cent of…
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From the Forum: Strange case of the dog that goes wee-wee in the night
There’s so much going on in strata at the moment that we barely need our usual weekly roundup of Forum questions and answers. But then there’s so much going on…
Flat Chat Wrap #34 – Tall storeys: TV dramas set in apartment blocks
There’s so much doom and gloom around strata at the moment you feel you’re missing out if your apartment block isn’t on fire, falling down or both. So we’ve decided…
Why Opal owners are really suing the state government
News that residents of the Opal Towers are planning to sue the State Government over its alleged failure to guarantee the building standards of their crumbling apartment block may be…
LISTEN: TV dramas set in apartment blocks
There’s so much doom and gloom around strata at the moment you feel you’re missing out if your apartment block isn’t on fire, falling down or both. So we’ve decided…
We warned Edinburgh about Airbnb – now they want curbs
It seems Flat Chat has a reach way beyond the shores of Australia, if news coming out of the Scottish capital Edinburgh is anything to go by. This time last…
Victoria residents slam phantom funds offer for cladding fix
NSW owners of apartments in flammable cladding affected buildings may have cast envious eyes in the direction of Victoria, where the state government has promised to help pay for the…
What if you needed a licence to live in strata?
When I wrote last week that there should be a ratings system for builders and developers, there was another brilliant idea bouncing around my brain, and one that has just…
Waterfix saving strata blocks tens of thousands
Is your strata block pouring money down the drain (almost) literally? Sydney Water claims its Waterfix Strata efficiency program is saving 75 Olympic sized swimming pools and close to half…
Flat Chat Wrap #33 – Commercial tenants, caretakers versus Airbnb, and wandering pot plants
How would you feel if you suddenly had 50 to 100 strangers walking through your lobby every day, clogging up the lifts just when you are trying to get to…
The real deal for strata owners on James Valentine
I was listening to the ABC News Radio last Friday and an item came on about strata defects, flammable cladding and the state ministers meeting in Sydney. The news reader…
From The Forum: Kids’ pool ban battle still raging
Remember the story we ran a few weeks ago on the Forum about the Sydney Park Village apartment complex (pictured) that had decided to ban children from their swimming pool…