Sinned against or strata sinner?
The following missive from an unhappy strata owner has landed on our desk and it contains just about every issue under the sun – from illegal parking to murder (literally)…
Goodbye, Minister
We all kind of knew it would happen sooner or later. Anthony Roberts was not only the best Fair Trading minister this state has seen in … well … possibly…
No safe wriggle room for unit blocks with pools
Swimming pools, and the need to protect small children from their magnetic attraction, are a highly emotive topic. As new national figures reveal an increase of nearly 50 percent in…
Proxy farmers fire up in face of vote drought
The backlash has started against curbs on proxy farming – the highly dubious practice of strata committee office-bearers using their privileged access to strata rolls to ‘harvest’ the votes of…
Strata’s seething, sticky, scheming sneaks
Get this, all you quarter-acre-blockers: most apartment dwellers are mostly happy most of the time. In the last year, Consumer Affairs Victoria received around 7900 enquires but little more than…
Broadband providers bashing on doors
High speed internet service providers are threatening legal action to force apartment block owners across Sydney to allow them to install their equipment and cable their buildings. Using the laws…
Selling off the whole box and dice
It used to be called “strata extinguishment” and it’s now called “collective sales and renewals” but basically it’s all about strata schemes selling off the entire block so someone can…
Express lift key perks
You get little thanks for serving on an executive committee and even less reward. But, like politicians with travel allowances, the temptation to award yourself little perks is always there.…
The strata law reform position paper
I’m probably going to take a lot of stick for this because I have been fairly unstinting in my praise for these proposals. Sure, they’re not 100 percent right and…
Best flat in the worst building
We are often told the best piece of property advice is to buy the worst house in the best street (and definitely not vice versa). But what if you are…
New Strata Laws – a preview
In his speech to the Strata Community Australia’s Owners day on Saturday, Fair Trading Minister Anthony Roberts outlined a number of key elements of proposed change in the upcoming review…
Room to move in strata law reform
This is the comment piece that ran alongside the news story in the Herald on November 4. ‘Lord, give me the courage to change what I can, the serenity to…