Strata laws need a sanity clause
Did the earth move for you on Wednesday? Or was the long-awaited arrival of a raft of new strata laws just another day at the office? To be honest, the…
New laws on strata levies and capital works
The new NSW strata legislation requires owners to ‘actively consider’ how they want their future maintenance and capital works to be funded. Flat Chat sponsors Lannock Finance explain why setting…
Roundup: Shock of the new
I hate to blow my own trumpet but I’m hearing lots of reports that people are turning up at strata committee meetings and being handed a copy of my “21…
Strata dwellers – lab rats for society?
Is your nose twitching more than usual these days? Whiskers growing out past your ears? I ask because I get the feeling that strata residents are lab rats for the…
Smoking zones planned for apartment blocks
Sydney’s unit blocks may soon get a feature they will share with pubs’ pokie parlours, as well as some overseas international airports. Apartment owners will soon be able to set…
21 strata law changes you really need to know
By Jimmy Thomson There are more than 90 changes to the strata laws that come into force in NSW on November 30. Here are the 21 that will affect you…
Roundup: The times – and strata crimes – are a-changin’
The times are certainly changing . Not only has Bob Dylan won a Nobel Prize but there are only seven more sleeps until strata law changes in NSW make all…
MPs reject pro-airbnb laws
The tide appears to be turning on the apparently frantic rush to make unrestricted apartment holiday letting the norm in Australia. The upper house in the Victorian parliament has rejected…
New hope for old strata schemes
Can we build some granny flats at the back of our apartment block? It’s a valid question from one of our Flatchatters that will become much more pertinent at the…
Roundup: Once more with feeling
Strange things seem to happen when you move out of your normal environment and try to do things in a different way and, even worse, from a different place. Right…
Sydney MP breaks ranks over airbnb
Sydney MP Alex Greenwich has slammed proposals that Airbnb-style short-stay lets of entire apartments should be allowed in apartment blocks, even when the vast majority of owners don’t want them.…
Unborn puppy is a pig in a strata poke
How do you apply to have a pet in your apartment when the animal doesn’t even exist yet? You can’t prove how big it will be, let alone how angelic…