Smoke drift battle exposes NCAT’s farcical flaws
The recent Sydney Morning Herald story about a couple who – at the third attempt – won a case to get their neighbours to stop smoking on their balcony may…
NCAT
Forum: The drinking person’s guide to AGMs
Last time we let the Forum sit for a week to see if we could accumulate any more questions – and boy, do we now have a couple of doozies.…
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…
How to fast-track strata conflict resolution
It is generally accepted that our states’ strata dispute systems are slow, frustrating and expensive – but isn’t there a way to provide instant answers before issues become serious problems.…
Forum: Law breakers want to sue over complaints
Our “star forum post” this week (for want of a better term) concerns a resident of a mixed use block where the proprietors of the commercial units all come from…
Tenants can take OCs to NCAT over defects
Tenants have the legal right to take their owners corporations to a NSW Tribunal to force them to fix faults in common property, an NCAT Appeals panel has ruled, but…
Podcast: Petinos, pets and petty squabbles
There we were, all set with a podcast on David Chandler’s resignation in the can, when we heard that NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet had invited Fair Trading Minister Eleni Petinos…
Refusal to allow second Frenchie challenged
Does gaining permission for one dog in a strata scheme mean you should automatically be allowed a second pooch? And does a by-law allowing permission to keep “an animal” mean…
When hiring a good strata lawyer is a great idea
In this week’s Australian Financial Review I wrote about the value of good strata lawyers and the problems with bad ones. This was prompted by a chat with Amanda Farmer…
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…
Losers pay: Special levies mandatory for NCAT cases
Listen up all you litigious committee members! We have discovered something via the Flat Chat Forum that should make every strata committee in NSW think long and hard before they…
Tribunal rescinds pre-sold management contract
For the first time in NSW state history, a tribunal has rescinded a strata building management contract, pre-sold by the developer, finding it to be harsh, oppressive and unconscionable, writes…