#20474
Jimmy-T
Keymaster

    @KayJ said:

    … why do you keep referring to it as a ‘party flat’ – There has never been a party in my rental. I will not allow it to be trashed, what don’t you understand about that fact.  

    The decision you are celebrating in your original posting was about party flats.  You opened that discussion and associated yourself with those people. 

    As a property owner I can now use my apartment as a short term rental and keep control of the property.

    … and to Hell with the majority of people in your building if they don’t want that.

    If someone breaks my House Rules, they are out.

    But if a landlord breaks the rules of their building or the council’s zoning laws that’s OK because they have the ‘right’ to make money?

    By them having a licence to occupy and not a lease they can be evicted immediately.

    By whom?  Forget your idyllic situation for a moment; when has this happened?  Why didn’t it happen at the Watergate building in Melbourne (which this case is all about)?

    You can’t use your specific experience to generalise about all short-term rentals.  Are you saying there is no problem?  Or is it just that other strata residents all over Australia have to potentially suffer just so you can have your investment?  

    Public opinion is increasing in their desire for fully self contained residences.

    Are you saying more people want to stay in serviced apartments than hotels?  Fine, build some serviced apartments and stop invading our homes. Public demand for designer drugs is also increasing but I don’t see that being used as an argument for undermining the law. 

    Our Code of Conduct will get rid of the small minority that you refer to. 

    And Santa Claus will be coming down the chimney any minute …  If it was as easy as that, Melbourne City Council would not have needed to run this case in the first place and the Victorian government would not be planning to change the law.

    Self-regulation of the industry is working very well according to the Australian Building Codes Board and a number of Government bodies who understand the demand by families for a self contained residences.

    Where does it say that? 

    The Australian Governments Productivity Commission Research Report 2010, states the following on page 190 … the growth in serviced apartments as a major form of tourist accommodation, ‘representing at least 30 per cent of all short stay accommodation rooms in Australia’

    All this means is that your short-term renting friends may be an even bigger problem than we thought. Build holiday flats and stop leeching off people who are trying to create communities.

     … please tell us what mechanism you use to remove party animals who are destroying the legal right to peace and quiet that your neighbours are supposed to enjoy. 

    – Jimmy – exactly the same way you do for long term tenants who make a noise as you have explained elsewhere on this site.

    What rubbish! Long-term residents don’t disappear after a weekend before the building manager, strata manager and EC have even been told there’s a problem. And if there is no problem with short-term rentals, why would this even be an issue?

     … how do we get in touch with YOU (or your mealymouthed agents) at 2 am on a Sunday morning when your tenants are singing Cold Chisel’s greatest hits on your balcony or in our swimming pool, …

    – In my case text my mobile – all my neighbours have it …

    Well done! But that’s you and I’m sure if the same system had operated in The Watergate in Melbourne then we wouldn’t be having this discussion.  But you are not the problem KayJ … just all the cowboys in your industry whom you seem to support despite the fact that they don’t give a damn about their neighbours.

    So what are your sanctions against your party animal tenants … it’s too late for the people who’ve suffered yet another weekend of disruption in their homes.

    I have already covered that!

    No you haven’t. What about all the absentee owners who hand over their properties to agents and don’t even know if their property has been occupied or not until they get their monthly statement?  

    Any one who runs a good business will meet and greet, with the power of the internet, you will not survive if you cannot deliver what you promote.

    Maybe you do … many, many others don’t.  And we are not talking about “good business” are we?

    In our building it is the bikies upstairs that are the problem and we cannot do anything – we have tried.

    So now you’re saying unruly tenants CAN’T be evicted?

    Part of the problem those who defend the short-term letting industry chose to think there isn’t a problem, despite all the evidence to the contrary.  

    What evidence – have you read what Justice Beach, Nettle and Osborn actually said in their judgements.

    Yes I have and it’s pages and pages of definitions of what is a dwelling and what is a hotel room and some stuff about whther anyone was actually in danger because of a lack of hotel-style fire exit signs.  That’s it.  

    There is nothing about giving uncontrolled groups of people access to residents’ homes with no thought for the impact that has on their peace and quiet.  Nothing.  

    This was a technical building law issue which had been raised as a last desperate attempt to deal with an intractable social issue.  The ruling was about building law – not the behaviour of short-term tenants.

    The “since when is it a crime to make money?’ line you use elsewhere cuts to the heart of this problem.  A small number of greedy people are making a lot of people’s lives Hell in pursuit of a fast buck.

    You support their “right” to do so by saying you don’t do all the bad things.  Hey, I don’t drink and drive but I do drink and I do drive.  Should I be supporting drunk drivers?

    Yes the party is over and we can get back to business and continue to provide a regular flow of patrons to the local restaurants, and dollars to the local shops, tickets to the football games and shows around town.

    Which wouldn’t happen if they stayed in hotels, motels or in properly designated holiday flats? What about the hotel workers who lose their jobs because of people illegally letting their flats as holiday homes? What does that do for the local economy?

    And what about the long-term tenants who are squeezed out of the rental market because of inflated prices (viz Byron Bay’s experience).  Or the inflationary effect this has on unit and house prices.  

    But no, short-term letting landlords are people who really CARE about their communities … apart from their neighbours in the buildings that they have turned into hotels.

     

    The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.