When is a lover no longer a visitor?
When is a someone who’s not a resident, seeping over in strata, not a visitor? When a building’s by-laws say so, is the simple answer. “I have started a relationship…
What a waste – but who pays?
A version of this article has also appeared on the Sydney Morning Herald’s online pages and in the print edition of Domain. QUESTION: Tenants broke a waste pipe which is…
EC member junks the by-laws
There aren’t many privileges that come with being a member of an executive committee – unless you actually enjoy being shouted at by angry owners – but there are EC…
Low-rent landlord in 20 percent hike
QUESTION: I wrote to the landlord asking to renew our lease, as the term was up in eight weeks. Instead he handed me a 30-day notice of termination of the…
Abandoned car or parking madness?
When is an car abandoned? When it’s left in a unit block tenant’s space, its number plates removed? OK, but what if it is covered with a tarpaulin? The tenant…
Strata reform hits a speed bump
The revolution has been postponed. The changes to strata law in NSW that were due to hit the statute books in July – meaning they should be before Parliament right…
DIY strata – for the half who don’t have managers
There was a time when the management of strata was all smoke and mirrors. Strata managers, it seemed to many owners, moved in mysterious ways, their wonders to perform. And…
How to find the perfect flat
I was called in to the James Valentine show on 702 today to do a segment about how to find – and get – the right rental property for you.…
Drugs, prostitution, overcrowding: why a Sydney building hit back
The following letter was sent from Regis Towers in response to a series of questions I asked about the alleged ‘scandal’ of tenants having their access keys cancelled because of…
Tenants locked out as block cracks down on overcrowding and crime
Owners in Regis Towers, the building where beefed up security has left tenants locked out of their homes, say they were forced to take action because of prostitution, drug dealing,…
Parking thieves face $550 fines … but so do bad parkers
Opportunist ‘parking thieves’ who grab unit block parking spots while they shop or commute to work could face fines of $550 when local council parking officers are allowed to patrol…
How landlords could end up in hot water
More than half the residents of strata are renters, meaning that there a lot of buildings around that are almost totally tenanted. Not that there’s anything wrong with that ……