Govt. opens website for strata law reform ideas
The latest news out of NSW Fair Trading depends very much on whether you are an optimist or a pessimist. The former will be delighted to hear that the state…
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Will tenants be tempted by no-strata-hassle living?
There’s the smell of freshly made coffee and baking cookies wafting through the doorway of a building boasting rental apartments inside, writes Sue Williams, in a recent article in Domain.…
Here’s cheers to the best of the worst of your posts
Following on from our “best of the worst” podcast last week, and as we emerge from our Covid-enforced hibernations, here at Flat Chat we’ve been looking back at a busy…
Online guide blazes trail through defects jungle
A new interactive, user-friendly online guide will help current and future apartment owners discover and deal with building defects, say its authors. Launched this week, the step-by-step guide, devised by…
US city bans smoking in apartments – but not pot
Councillors in one of America’s largest cities have voted to ban smoking cigarettes and vapes in apartments – but not marijuana. According to stories in the online versions of the…
The arrival of the bath is water music to my ears
Bathroom Chronicles, Part 10 The bath has arrived, as promised by the lovely people at Parisi. Although I admit I did have a few last-minute doubts. When the Chinese government…
Forum: Why are our facilities still closed?
As we emerge blearily from our Covid-induced hibernation, obviously some strata schemes are quicker to get back to normal than others. One Flatchatter wants to know why the spa and…
Podcast: Crazy questions, architects with answers
We turn back the clock – but just a little – for this week’s podcast when we look at the weirdest and wackiest questions asked and problems presented on the…
Rents drop as Airbnb flats return to residential lets
The pandemic hasn’t quite killed off short-term holiday letting but it’s certainly applied a hefty brake – at least as far as our cities are concerned. The return to the…
Rental as anything – new app by-passes agents
New research has revealed that both tenants and landlords believe unhelpful real estate agents are among the biggest obstacles to their happy co-existence. Research commissioned by the founders of a…
When is a bathroom not really a bathroom?
Bathroom Chronicles, Part 9 It is the most human of responses, it seems: when disaster strikes, you go looking for someone to blame. The disaster in this case is bathroom…
Forum: Owner in dispute blocked from election
I often wonder where some strata managers get their ideas – it certainly doesn’t appear to be from professional training. Take the case of our Flatchatter who is in dispute…