Ten-year building warranty is a strata game changer
COMMENT: A crucial element in the NSW apartment building revolution has arrived with the first of the big insurers prepared to take a punt on Chandler’s five-star reforms. As we…
insurance
Building insurers back in the apartment game
When Building Commissioner David Chandler told us that his shake-up of new building standards in NSW would lead to a return of insurers providing cover for new apartment builds, there…
Forum: Leaks reveal holes in tribunal process
There’s an old saying that “justice delayed is justice denied”, and nowhere is that more true than in strata. Take the case that’s just landed on our desk concerning a…
Podcast: When crims become dodgy developers
It’s hardly a true crime podcast but this week, inspired by connections made in the press between the relatives of property developers and their friends with police records, we wade…
Development industry reforms ‘back on track’
After weeks of turmoil in NSW Fair Trading and in the Building and Property services commissioners’ offices, in particular, the loud and clear message is not so much “business as…
Body corp in poo over blocked pipe claim
A recent case concerning a blocked sewage pipe that flooded an apartment has left a Queensland body corporate in the poo, exploded a myth about strata insurance and highlighted a…
Forum: When you can’t do what the law demands
Usually in the intros to these Forum roundups, we try to give you the best of the newest posts. It just so happens that there are plenty to choose from…
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…
Forum: Angry tradie targets new unit owner
Here’s a conundrum from way out of left field, and then some. One of our Flatchatters has just received a final demand, and a threat of legal action, from a…
Commish hands out gold stars, extends contract
Building Commissioner David Chandler is about to start handing out gold stars to the most reliable developers in NSW. And he has announced that he has extended his contract with…
Forum: Are two-lot strata schemes too much hassle?
We tend not to hear too much about the mysteries two-lot strata schemes like duplexes and villas. Is “mysteries” over-stating it? For a long time Randwick Council in Sydney’s East…
Strata insurers must not forget a horrible history
There’s a statement about a proposal to invite insurance firms to provide building warranties for new apartment blocks – but only those constructed by the best builders – which may…