Timber and tile floors
TIMBER, tiled and even polished concrete floors have become possibly the most consistently heated issue in the 15 years that Flat Chat has been in existence. In an old apartment…
It’s a crying shame
Are apartments appropriate places for small children? They’ll have to be if we’re going to accommodate Sydney’s swelling masses. But do the rest of us have to put up with…
Shiver me timbers
There has been a huge response to our column a couple of weeks ago about timber floors. But it wasn’t all bad news. One loyal reader had a hard-fought win…
Battling for a fair go
So Premier Rees has finally put an end the corrupting cancer of developer donations to the Labor party. With about a million Sydney residents living in strata, Mr Rees may…
Beware the tap dance
The past few weeks has seen a spate of emails to this column about wooden floors, with questions ranging from what can be done to force neighbours to reinstate carpet,…
Live and let live
It’s not often that you would claim words of true wisdom are coming out of Canberra but, hey, even a broken clock is right twice a day. Actually, that’s not…
Time of the signs
Country people are smart – not only do they read this column, they get two questions for the price of one. QUESTIONS: What are the rules regarding agents “For Sale”…
Petty Grievances
Pet owners often complain about rules imposed by strangers in a large block. But what if there’s only one other apartment and they’re putting up “no dogs” signs before you…
Just fine by me
One of the frustrations in dealing with badly behaved neighbours is that after all hassles of pursuing them through Fair Trading and the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal, any fines…
Hung out to dry
Fair Trading Minister Virginia Judge and the Premier Nathan Rees are concerned about money wasted on legal fees when we want to change by-laws. According a circular issued by Fair…
Disaster moves
We’ve had dust storms, firestorms and good old-fashioned floods in Australia recently. The plagues of frogs and locusts must be just around the corner. More significantly for apartment owners we’ve…
Ceiling the deal
One strata resident’s ceiling is another unit-dweller’s floor but when it comes to changing things, exactly who owns what? QUESTION: I own a unit in a block of flats where…