Strata data: the facts of life for apartment dwellers
Guess how many people live in apartments in Australia. Actually, you don’t need to – it’s just over 2.2 million and a smidge less than 10 percent of the whole…
Featured
Just what we need – another crowd cashes in on the Airbnb boom
We received a press release last week from a UK-based company called Airsorted. They are promising to make it easier for you to let out – sorry, “share” – your…
Roundup: When is it OK to start plotting against the committee?
There’s been a lot of forum chat in the past week or so about whether or not it’s a good idea to set up an alt. committee – or strata…
Free gym equipment … all you need is muscle
Are you in an apartment block where the so-called gym has plenty of space but only contains a clapped out exercise bike and an “abserciser” that someone bought off a…
Legal costs – how to avoid losing when you win
The trouble with taking legal action is that even when you win, sometimes you can lose – especially in cases when no costs are awarded. And costs are rarely awarded…
‘Business as usual’ for Airbnb by-laws, says strata lawyer
With the announcement two weeks ago that legislation is going to be changed, allowing owners corporations to pass by-laws forbidding owners from listing their entire apartments on holiday letting websites,…
Would you buy a flat with a mate?
Would you consider buying a place with a friend, flatmate or family member? It’s an intriguing prospect but one that’s fraught with all sorts of pitfalls. The following is a press…
Roundup: Whingers – nails on the chalkboard of bureaucracy
The other day I came across a paid-for strata advice service that said it offered an alternative to scouring the web for the opinions of serial whingers. It made me…
Strata battles: Know when it’s time to stop fighting
Q: What’s the phrase that lawyers love to hear most? A: ‘It’s a matter of principle.’ Yes, even better than ‘you win’, according to that old joke, a battle fought…
Roundup: Chance to take your disputes to a TV reality show
The TV reality show Judge Judy and its imitators are based on a fairly simple premise – two parties with seemingly intractable problems face each other in front of a…
Airbnb furious as tenants claim survey was misconstrued
by Jimmy Thomson and Sue Williams The influential tenants’ group behind a study frequently used by Airbnb to justify the spread of short-term holiday letting in NSW says its research has been misconstrued by the…
Roundup: Airbnb’s MP mates offer a crumb of discomfort
Finally we get the Government’s short-term letting laws – or at least the proposals – and they turn out to be little more than a “surrender tackle” on Airbnb with a half-hearted and…