Ironically, in the same week in which NSW Fair Trading announced that it’s much anticipated compulsory training for strata committee members won’t come in until next year, we learned that complaints about neighbours have shot up by more than 10 per cent.

According to this story in the Sydney Morning Herald, Fair Trading NSW has recorded an 11 per cent surge in strata dispute mediations over the past financial year – a total of  2761 applications

The disputes themselves read like a greatest hits compilation of Australian suburban grievances. In Fairlight, a pram and e-bike were declared public enemies after residents complained they’d become a “nuisance” and “trip hazard” in the common area of a 21-unit building.

Evergreen issues like barking dogs and smoking neighbours feature in the case studies, as does a Coogee resident who spent nearly a year and thousands of dollars fighting for the right to install an air-conditioner.

David Glover from the Owners Corporation Network told the SMH that the system needs an overhaul. There’s currently a “big gap” between mediation and the tribunal, making the process expensive and time-consuming, particularly when dealing with “vexatious or intractable owners”.”

Fair Trading NSW says reforms are coming to reduce mediation wait times, and mandatory training for strata committee members kicks off next year. They’ll need it – with recent planning reforms pushing housing density skyward, 50 per cent of Sydneysiders are expected to live in strata homes by 2040.