Fair Trading fluffs again – is air-con sustainable?
Our revelation last week that NSW Fair Trading has no idea what double glazing is, even though they specify it in their renovations regulations as being a permitted “minor renovation”,…
regulations
Double trouble as regs fail on minor renovations
When is double glazing not really double glazing? When it’s cited in NSW strata regulations. As mentioned in this week’s newsletter, and detailed on the Forum, a Flatchatter is involved…
Burning issue – OCN seminar on new fire regs
There are few phrases that send more of a chill thorough the hearts of strata owners than the words “fire safety”. Whether you’re in an old building badly in need…
ROUNDUP: What’s the rule on catch-all by-laws?
There’s an interesting twist on the question of by-laws and rules that came in the other day – can the owners corp create enabling by-laws that allow them to create…
From the Forum: fake grassroots campaign fails to catch fire
Our post on the short-term letting fire regulations sparked a fiery discussion (oops, sorry!). And that was before we even discovered that Airbnb hosts had already swamped Planning NSW with…
PODCAST: Loopholes and pitfalls in new holiday letting rules
Just when you thought it was safe to dip your toe into the Airbnb discussion, it turns out the new laws are not what they seem. The 180-day cap on…
Flat Chat Wrap #39 – Loopholes and pitfalls in new Airbnb regs
Just when you thought it was safe to dip your toe into the Airbnb discussion, it turns out the proposed new laws are not what they seem. The 180-day cap…
Will Airbnb registry be a self-inflicted wound?
As they try to untangle the apartment block defects mess largely created by self-certification, you might think the last thing NSW politicians would consider would be putting foxes in charge…
OCN blasts ‘hands-off’ regulations after Four Corners TV report
Australia’s main apartment owners’ organisation claims unit residents have been left in the lurch by developers and builders thanks to “hands off” government regulations that allowed the construction of sub-standard…
How Fireys may save us from holiday let hell
The NSW government released their discussion document of the proposed new short-term letting regulations this week and, of course, they make interesting reading. I will be examining the proposal for…
Why pre-sale renos could be bad planning
For any prospective home buyer with a skerrick of visual imagination, a rundown home is a massive canvas on which to express themselves. That might apply to apartments even more…
Roundup: Fixing a hole in the strata-sphere
AS we have said many times in the past, there is a great big hole in the otherwise comprehensive advice offered by Fair Trading to strata residents. We have all…