Beware the ratchet effect of bad by-laws
A ratchet is a brilliantly simple piece of engineering: easy to turn in one direction – almost impossible to go the other way. The “ratchet effect” when applied to by-laws,…
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‘Legal trailblazer’ appointed new boss of NCAT
It would be nice to be able to take credit for a shake-up at the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT), but rest assured our reporting of the latest weirdness…
Back to the bad old days as by-laws balked
I hate to say it, but it seems we’re heading back to the bad old days of the CTTT when it comes to our strata tribunal (NCAT). According to an…
Roundup: The buck doesn’t stop here … or there
I should really call this week’s roundup the “runaroundup”, considering the way various government departments have had me pinging around like a pinball. A couple of weeks ago, I asked…
Pets and apartments – an interview
A couple of weeks ago our friends at Pet Insurance Australia sent us some questions about pet ownership in strata schemes, to form the basis for a feature they’ll be…
Strata challenges get residents talking votes
It has been said in many ways, many times, but there is a fundamental truth in politics: if you want people to unite, give them a common enemy. So it…
Power play as shocking contracts unlocked
In what can only be described as a solid win for strata residents, home owners and tenants living in strata schemes will no longer be locked into uncompetitive long term…
The new kit on the block – another podcast lands
Listen to the Dardanelle Towers, Episode 2 podcast HERE Well, this podcasting lark has turned out to be harder than I thought. You write the stuff, read it aloud, read…
Roundup: power brokers, smokers and slackers
Purely coincidentally, in a week where my column in the AFR was banging on about untrained volunteers running massive budgets in their blocks, while competent professionals are too busy to…
New Airbnb laws? Don’t hold your breath waiting
Psst! Don’t tell anybody but, you know those new laws about short-term holiday letting that everybody got their knickers in a twist about? Well, the rumour is that they’re not…
Cracks showing as Fair Trading loses friends
Fair Trading, the unheralded and little-loved corner of the NSW department of Innovation and Better Regulation has always had its resources stretched to breaking point. It’s a vital service cursed…
Why untrained volunteers run big bucks budgets
They oversee annual budgets of millions of dollars, make decisions that have profound influence on the lives of hundreds of people, pursue policies that could have devastating effects on the…