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…
Whose home is it?
Another gaping hole in strata law has been brought to my attention this week – and it shows how the right to make decisions about your own home can be…
Question of choice
If there’s one aspect of Company Title apartment living that strata owners secretly long for it’s the ability to choose your neighbours (which would almost but not quite make up…
Tell it like it is
I have a friend who can’t buy anything without spending days on the internet, researching what’s the best, newest, trendiest version of what he wants. I know plenty of others…
Silent screams
Late night noise can be frustrating and debilitating and if you’re the only one who’s being kept awake by selfish neighbours, or others don’t realise that they don’t have to…
Short-term thinking
I heard the other day that I am running a campaign against short-term rentals. Well, I wasn’t but, hey, now that you mention it, it seems like a good idea.…
‘Ello, ‘ello, ‘ello
Because of the level of security and restricted access they often provide, modern apartment blocks are perfect lairs for drug dealers and other criminals. One recent correspondent asked what a…
Defective laws under review
Sydney MP and Lord Mayor Clover Moore’s ambitious but much-needed effort to reform strata law was launched at a well-attended meeting in Parliament House last week. And first impression are…
Go the clamp
Good news on rogue parking. I’ve been talking to various people recently about this bugbear of strata living and it seems there is a simple solution, at least when it…
Blazing mad
With that fatal apartment block fire in London recently, a dramatic unit rescue in Newtown last weekend (subs: July 19) and the gas explosion in Bondi Junction back in March,…