Poll: What neighbour behaviour drives you nuts?
We’d all love to think that we are one big happy family in strata – but even family members fall out. And there are few things more irritating than an…
smoke
Curb your balcony barbies before they are banned
OPINION: The recent about a successful case brought by a NSW couple to prevent their neighbours from smoking on their balcony, and their call for a state-wide ban, raised the…
Light up! Why states won’t ban balcony smoking
The recent win by NSW apartment dwellers over their balcony smoking neighbours sent a puff of panic through strata smokers and their barbecuing brethren. However, nicotine addicts need not have…
Forum: We’re back and we’re parking mad
Happy New Year! Well, you have been busy bees over the holidays. All those questions you’ve wanted to write but never had the time … until now. So we’re back…
Forum: Crack in wall exposes gaps in the law
Sometimes I think the policy wonks who devise the rules by which we are supposed to run our strata lives deliberately throw in little quirks and nuances just to make…
Why we’ll never see a ban on balcony barbies
With summer on the way, not to mention the proposed end to bans on having friends round for dinner, apartment residents all over Australia will be dragging their barbecues out…
Podcast: Premiums soar thanks to sins of the past
We admit we can get a little city-centric here at Flat Chat so last weekend it was good to get out of the urban jungle and find out what’s happening…
Popular apartment pets at risk from smoke and heat
Some of the most popular dog breeds for apartment residents are the most susceptible to breathing problems from the smoke that’s been blanketing our cities. Vets in smoke-affected areas are…
Balcony smokers in your top three strata gripes
The results of our recent poll are in – not as definitive as a general election but more accurate than Peter Dutton’s guesstimate of his support – and there is…
Time to chuck another Aussie tradition on the barbie
Here’s a question for everyone who is getting their teeshirts in a twist over flammable cladding: Would you give up having barbecues on your balconies if it meant you didn’t…
Strata dwellers – lab rats for society?
Is your nose twitching more than usual these days? Whiskers growing out past your ears? I ask because I get the feeling that strata residents are lab rats for the…
Smoking zones planned for apartment blocks
Sydney’s unit blocks may soon get a feature they will share with pubs’ pokie parlours, as well as some overseas international airports. Apartment owners will soon be able to set…