Forum: Developer turns block into Airbnb hotel
What happens when a developer can’t sell all their apartments so then lists them on Airbnb? Are they running an illegal short-term rental hotel? And didn’t their sales people tell…
SCA appoints complaints tsar but the lies persist
Strata Community Association has announced the appointment of an independent complaints tsar, in the wake of the scandal over Netstrata’s exposure for charging secret commissions for insurance policies. But, despite…
Podcast: Chandler says he’s going nowhere
This week on the Flat Chat Wrap we get a glimpse behind the scenes as NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler is a guest at a “town hall” meeting for members…
NSW to crack down on strata manager scams
The NSW State government is planning to crack down on the “small number” of “unscrupulous” strata managers whom it says are undermining public confidence in apartment living. New laws will…
Should we let micro-blocks ignore strata law?
In this week’s guest post from our friend Francesco Andreone of GoStrata, he wonders if it’s time to think differently about micro strata buildings. There’s a lot of them, they…
Forum: Unelected despot bullying tenants
There is a malaise that must be unique to strata buildings – an ordinary owner awards themselves extraordinary powers and appoints themselves de facto building or strata manager. It’s not…
Podcast: Tax fixer-uppers and strata spies
The tax office is targetting double-dipping landlords who claim all sorts of things they shouldn’t, or just claim for stuff the wrong way.For instance, property investors routinely claim levies as a tax…
JimmyT eats his words… and they taste great!
Unless you are avid listeners to our podcasts, you may not realise that a month or so ago Jimmy took himself off to Saigon, Vietnam, for a couple of weeks…
ATO targets double-dip landlords and tax fixers
As we hurtle towards the end of the financial year, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is warning rental property owners that their tax returns are in the spotlight this time…
Can developers fix their defective reputations?
We have written a lot in these pages about efforts by the NSW Building Commission to ensure defects in new apartment buildings are fixed, in part using the iCIRT star…
Why good strata owners make bad decisions
Even though strata owners may be smart and well-intentioned, they don’t always make great decisions, especially collectively. And sometimes strata buildings delay important decisions or, worse still, actually make really…
Forum: Is it okay to record committee meetings?
The vexed question of whether you are allowed to record strata committee meetings has raised its head again – with new complications for the modern age. First of all, it…