Podcast: Pets (again!) with James Valentine
Every so often – about once a month – I get invited on to James Valentine’s Afternoons on ABC 702. Last week the topic was pets in apartments – partly…
Strata pets
There was a time in strata blocks when “no pets” was the default rule for apartment residents.
When the model by-laws in various states changed to allow residents to apply for permission to keep pets, which could not be unreasonably refused, “we have never allowed pets” was considered to be a reasonabe reason for refusal.
But times have changed and that is no longer the case, as you will read in these posts.
NB: Some of the stories in these pages go a long way back – check the dates as the laws may have changed. Also references to pets may be part of a larger story.
Top dogs – the very best pooches for apartments
Last week, on James Valentine’s afternoon show on ABC radio, I said we had an article on this website telling people what the best dogs for apartments are. I kind…
Survey deadline extended to define ‘unreasonable’
The search for the definition of “unreasonable” has prompted NSW Fair Trading, aka the department of Better Regulation, to extend the deadline for public responses to its review of strata…
Pet-friendly housing helps everyone, says report
A new report backed by six Australian universities has concluded that having pets is good for both tenants and landlords. However, even though more than 60 per cent of Australian…
Podcast: New pet laws and defining ‘reasonable’
In this week’s podcast we give the NSW Parliament’s deliberations on it’s new strata pet laws a kick along. As reported here, the Lower House has taken a good six…
Loving our pets to death with flowers and chocs
Has your fur baby been looking under the weather since Valentines Day? Maybe you’ve been sharing the love a little too much. We have to be careful we don’t love…
Revised pet law offers clarity and compromise
The vexed question of pets in apartments and unfair by-laws took a new twist this week when Alex Greenwich, Sydney’s member of the NSW Parliament saw his proposal for a…
Podcast: Bad landlords and skinny buildings
The Flat Chat wrap this week is taken up with three main topics. The first is a petition to parliament to create a blacklist of bad landlords … launched by…
Fair Trading fluffs again – is air-con sustainable?
Our revelation last week that NSW Fair Trading has no idea what double glazing is, even though they specify it in their renovations regulations as being a permitted “minor renovation”,…
Why first-time buyers need better protection
As our various governments, state and federal, lure us with grants and tax breaks into buying new and off-the-plan units, they really need to put more safeguards in place to…
Forum: Should cleaner have to deal with dog poo?
Our first post in this week’s roundup illustrates precisely why I would never live in an apartment block that didn’t have CCTV at least covering the front door and foyer.…
Law change survey leads to our strata manifesto
This week, I slipped down the ultimate strata rabbit hole – NSW Fair Trading’s consultation questionnaire in which they invite us to tell them how we think strata laws could…