Forum: Would you let an American staffy in?
We have all become used to the idea that you can’t ban all pets or even all dogs from your strata block, but can you ban them selectively? The theory…
Lock up and leave: Sue wins travel writing award
We’re celebrating in Flat Chat central this week as our very own Sue Williams has won the Australian Society of Travel Writers award for the best travel news story of…
Mascot owners’ plan to walk away is blocked
Owners in the Mascot tower have failed in their efforts to have the collective sale of the block authorised so that they could sell the site to the highest bidder…
Podcast: Star-struck buyers, Mascot misery
It’s a packed Wrap this week with a lot happening in and around strata. Global credit rating and data analysis agency Equifax – the people who measure how many of…
Buyers will pay more for five-star rating – survey
Sixty per cent of apartment buyers say they would pay more for apartments if they were more confident of the build quality and were sure that the contractor or building…
No smoke without ire in vicious balcony battle
When Flatchatter Sorrel (not her real name) tried to do something about smoke drift from her new neighbours’ balcony into her home she found herself in a year-long battle that…
Forum: SC members get $5K cards for spending
How much do you trust your committee members? Would you give them or even just your office-bearers each a $5k debit card so they could pay bills as and when…
Parking madness and the race for visitor spaces
Every so often we conduct semi-serious polls on the Flat Chat website; they’re far from scientific but they do offer some insight into the collective strata mindset. Recently, we asked…
Lock up and Leave: It just has to be Japan
We usually have a bit of a debate about our pick of the week but the one that jumps out at us this time around is a small-group luxury tour…
New strata laws ease through NSW parliament
The most radical shake-up of strata law in Australia since the current Act came into force in 2016 could, at a push, be in place by Christmas. Changes to NSW’s…
Chandler’s power boost as phoenixing under fire
Dodgy developers who use phoenixing schemes to defraud apartment buyers and deprive them of their legal rights will suffer another blow next week when the NSW parliament is expected to…
Podcast: Designer blocks and Broadway shocks
In this week’s Flat Chat Wrap we talk about the proposal to introduce architectural pattern books in NSW. Will they mean even more cookie-cutter apartment blocks or will it simply…