Would you pass a strata driving test?
Eavesdropping on an email discussion at the Owners Corporation Network the other day, I came across this question: what do you do with a rusted-on Executive Committee member who's been…
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Agents – the heroic and the horrific
‘Jimmy, I like ur column SMH, but do u have 2 continually bag out landlords, most of us r fair otherwise we wouldn’t have tenants.’ So Tweeted @schtang a few…
Have your say on the CTTT
I have been accused in the past of being unfair to the Consumer Trader and Tenancy Tribunal. Considering I have described them as clowns and their processes as ‘chocolate wheel…
Need beats greed for low-cost homes
Browsing through Twitter at the weekend, I happened upon this from our friends at the Tenants Union (@TUNSW) quoting an article in the Melbourne Age. “Unemployed single parents have no…
Stairway trick a low blow
Most of the questions to this column arrive via the Forum, these days, or by email. But occasionally I get approached at a party- a bit like a doctor being…
Pool parties no fun
We got a posting on the forum this week from a tenant in flats near UNSW. He was assured before he moved in that the block was very strictly run…
Shut out by nutter manager
QUESTION: I rent an apartment and car space. I once wrongly parked in common property and was warned by the building manager, who was very angry. I moved and apologised.…
The definitive ‘who owns what’
One of the recurring issues on Flat Chat is who is responsible for what in a strata building – brought to a boil recently when I mentioned that downlights in…
Safety nets on strata balconies
It's a brave Flatchatter who puts aesthetics before children's lives so I'm keeping right out of this discussion about safety nets for balconies. QUESTION: My company imports and installs internationally…
I want to break free from break fees
QUESTION: My landlord wants me to sign a lease including a break fee of up to six weeks rent. There is a high demand where I live and I can’t…
Tricky leak excuses don’t wash
Sometimes in strata you have to fight dirty just to get things done, like in a building where two apartments’ bathrooms leak water into the rest of the block. The…
It takes two to Twitter fight
I got into my first Twitter war last week when I tweeted that tenants can take their strata plan to the Consumer Trader and Tenancy Tribunal to get common property…