Forum: Company title – quirky, quaint and quiet
There’s a sense of the quirky and quaint about company title. The very idea that you must pass an interview by the “board” of existing owners before you can be…
Podcast: Defects, debts and dream bathrooms
Sometimes we are just too efficient for our own good. No sooner had we sent this week’s podcast off for transcription than the news broke that NSW Building Commissioner David…
Chandler resigns … and we saw it coming
As predicted on this website months ago, Building Commissioner David Chandler has resigned, just weeks after announcing that he had extended his contract for another year beyond its agreed end…
Why are we subsidising short-term lets?
As rents soar across Australia there is a quirk in tax law that can only be making matters worse Rents have gone up by 10 per cent or more in…
Owners battle illegal lets and crippling contracts
Queensland apartment owners are ramping up their battles to regain control over their homes on two fronts. One aspect is the fundamentally immoral (but entirely legal) practise of developers selling…
Forum: How can you define ‘reasonable’?
One of the most-seen weasel words in strata is “reasonable”. And it’s an often-visited grey area because it isn’t defined and can’t be. Even section 252 of the NSW strata…
ATO cracking down on dodgy holiday let claims
Danger, danger, holiday letting hosts! If you have been fudging the figures on your tax claims for your holiday home investments, the Australian Tax Office is coming after you. Actually,…
Podcast – all you need to know about levy debt
Last week saw the publication of a confected scandal of an elderly couple who’d been given bad advice, blaming their owners corporation for a special levy of $18,000 that had…
Online session on new strata reporting Hub
As of the beginning of this month, all strata schemes across NSW will need to report key information about their schemes and the people who run them using the new…
Forum: Is it a flat roof or a terrace floor?
Now, we’re going to need you to use your imagination for a minute here. You have a rooftop apartment – a penthouse, if you like – and it has a…
Podcast: Hidden issues, fake news and 40k listens
This week on the podcast we hop into the highly dubious story that appeared in the Sydney Sun-Herald this week about a poor old couple who are facing bankruptcy because…
Slim block wins top architecture award
by Jimmy Thomson What makes a fabulous apartment? Privacy, aspect, design and the way it can fit seamlessly into the neighbourhood, adding to the sense of community. That’s what the…