ABC levies debts report misses the mark
OPINION There’s a story in the ABC TV’s business report about how an apartment owner who’s had a run of rotten luck has just had everything made worse by her…
Issues
The main politics and trends in strata living
Is compulsory voting the answer to strata apathy?
With allegations of ‘blind” voting exacerbated by language barriers at one blighted block in Melbourne, there have been calls for strata information and forms to be printed in the native…
Deadline looms for cladding aid program
NSW strata schemes that have flammable cladding on their walls have just over a week left to register for the state government’s Project Remediate program which offers affected buildings interest-free…
Missing Mascot papers prove value of the Hub
As if the former residents of Mascot Towers in Sydney weren’t doing it tough enough, last month they received another blow and it’s one that smacks of local government incompetence,…
Still seeing that damned barking chihuaua?
Are you getting frustrated because every time you log on to Flat Chat you just go to the same page with the same old stories, including one about an incessantly…
Different strata strokes for different states’ folks
As we frequently remind readers, strata laws are different across the different states in Australia. Sometimes the differences are minor but occasionally they are glaring and speak to the culture…
Podcast: When what you see is not what you’ll get
This week, we delve into the dark arts employed by real estate agents and property stylists to persuade you that an absolute lemon is, in fact, your dream “forever home.”…
How styling can mask a pile of property problems
A cooling property market has led to estate agents having to work just a bit harder to move apartments and houses. And, as Sue Williams reports, that has meant some…
Architect anger, developer delight at planning backflip
NSW architects have slammed the state government’s backflip on proposals to compel developers to include sustainable elements in new designs and steer clear of flood and bush-fire susceptible areas, labelling…
SM contracts to be fixed but not set in stone
Contracts between strata managers and owners corporations have been accused of being one-sided, rigid and unfair, but they are unlikely to be replaced by standard statutory contracts any time soon…
Forum: Time to rewrite strata manager contracts?
The standard strata management agreement – as issued by Strata Community Australia – is a brute of a document. And while it’s not an mandatory form as, for instance, the…
States play catch-up with strata law proposals
Anyone keeping even just half an eye on events in StrataLand for the past week or so would be forgiven for thinking our state bodies – Better Regulation in NSW…