Pets under threat from coronavirus overkill
With the debate about companion animals in apartments always bubbling just below the level of hysteria, the current outbreak of COVID-19 (Coronavirus) has many pet owners fearful that it could…
Featured
Fist-bumps might not keep coronavirus at bay
I had a disturbing encounter with a senior government official the other day, during which he coughed into his hand a couple of times, assuring me he was over the…
From the Forum: Tenant turns around vote and stops renovations
So you’ve been through the tortuous system for getting approval of your planned renovations, and you have all the votes you need. But then the tenant of an adjoining flat…
Developers to be dumped from NSW local councils
Developers may soon be banned from holding positions on local councils in NSW, according to a story in The Australian newspaper. Property developers, real estate agents and their associates will…
Indian stunner – world’s most expensive home
By Flat Chat reporter Sue Williams in Mumbai Where is the world’s most expensive apartment? The answer may surprise you: it’s in India. And the building was started by Australian…
Could we ever have a not-for-profit strata manager?
I fielded a phone call from a former NSW Fair Trading Minister the other day asking why there isn’t such a thing as a not-for-profit strata management agency. By the…
From the Forum: Sole committee member seeks support
No one else in a small block was interested in volunteering, so a new owner ended up as a strata committee of one. Now more than half the other owners…
Podcast 61 – Electric cars and rogue parking with James Valentine
Roughly once a month JimmyT drops into the ABC radio studios for a chat with James Valentine about strata and all the myriad related subjects This month they start off…
Socket to me – rethinking electric car charging
A few months ago, I wrote a column about electric car charging in apartment blocks, and what we should do if the currently minimal demand suddenly takes off, with more…
From the Forum – timber floor trials and tribulations
We’ve always been staunch advocates of taking rogue flooring installers all the way to the Tribunal when they flout by-laws and common decency just so they can lay down their…
PODCAST 60 – Retirees rule, Airbnb lose and flooring fights
This week on the Flat Chat Wrap we ask whether retired business people are the best or the worst committee members you can have. Based on this column, Jimmy and…
Why former business bosses aren’t always the best office-bearers
You’d be forgiven for assuming former business people were the perfect strata committee office-bearers – especially if they have taken early retirement and still have a lot of energy to…