Food for thought as city expands scraps recycling
There’s a common misconception that apartment blocks must be more sustainable than stand-alone houses, due to the economies of shared space. They’re not. The energy consumed by indoor lighting in…
Bowling club battle ends with wins all round
There were broad smiles and few tears last week when spades cut the once-hallowed turf of Waverley Bowling Club in Sydney’s Eastern suburbs. Not only did the ceremony mark the…
Forum: Reno plan panic, possums and barking dogs
Sometimes it’s hard to tell whether owners are up to something, or they simply don’t know the correct procedures or they have left things too late and are panicking. I…
Podcast: Another U-Turn as Airbnb history repeats
Apologies for subjecting you to another short-term letting vent, but after last week’s state government schemozzle when the new holiday rental regulations were announced, then shelved, we thought we’d better…
State OKs replacements for flammable cladding
The NSW government says it has taken a major step forward in dealing with the removal of flammable cladding from the state’s 214 high-risk high rises – by approving four…
Podcast: Airbnb update as holiday let regs put on ice
Sometimes you can be just too efficient. There we were with the NSW government’s proposed regulations on short-term letting hot off the printer, plus industry responses and reactions from apartment…
NSW should help Mascot owners … and why it won’t
It’s been almost two years since the residents of Mascot Towers were told their building was to dangerous to live in. Just last week they were advised to sell the…
Forum: “Can’t hear you” on pets just won’t work
There’s an unwritten rule in strata that committees are always less smart than they think they are. You can file that alongside “strata law is never just common sense” and…
Ghost parking – sweet revenge on a rogue parker
This may be too good to be true – and too delicious to reject out of hand – but we may have found a way of moving cars parked illegally…
Qld owners use pester power to curb contracts
Here at Flat Chat we have long campaigned against the “legalised corruption” of the pre-sale of caretaker management contracts in Queensland. There, for no better reason than to put more…
Messy message as final ‘airbnb’ code delayed
Late last week, when NSW Planning finally released the new regulations on short-term holiday letting – aka STRA, aka “airbnb” – there was something to annoy everyone. The proposals would…
Forum: Parking vigilante is breaking the law
Let’s be honest, if you’ve ever found someone else’s car in your parking spot, you’ll have been tempted just to park in behind it and leave it there, ignoring pleas…