Dazed and confused by law and regs changes
Am I missing something here … apart from any ability to shrug off NSW Fair Trading’s dubious communications skills, that is? Take the announcement last week of updates to both…
strata managers
The good, the bad and the strata manager
A few weeks ago we looked at the role of the building facilities manager in a block and how a good one can enhance liveability and property values while a…
Podcast: Another blow to ‘no-pets’ buildings
There’s another very mixed bag this week but it’s mostly good news in these trying times. Up in Queensland, the tribunal there is chipping away at restrictive pet by-laws in…
Podcast: Airbnb curbs and the intercom of doom
Like a wayward teenager who stayed out too late, Airbnb is creeping back into our lives, hoping to avoid our parental wrath, but finding a less than loving reception waiting…
Forum: Time to rewrite strata manager contracts?
The standard strata management agreement – as issued by Strata Community Australia – is a brute of a document. And while it’s not an mandatory form as, for instance, the…
Podcast: Developers’ cosy deals with cronies curbed
With two major chunks of strata legislation landing last week – Victoria’s new laws and NSW’s proposals for a revamp of theirs – we pick the bones out of the…
Forum: Under water but over-insured
It’s not often that you hear people complaining about being over-insured but, hey, this is strata and anything can happen. In a nutshell, an owner installed a nice new timber…
Building managers dodge contract limits bullet
Stories about incompetent or dishonest strata building managers are the stuff of apartment dinner party one-upmanship. Or should that be one-downmanship? To be fair, most strata and facilities managers are…
Strata managers step up with info and advice
Monitoring cleaning services, supporting owners who are struggling to pay their levies, keeping track of the disputes procedures, keeping contractors and service providers afloat, advising on the use of communal…
Podcast 62: Free strata managers, fire stupidity, locked-out landlord
In this week’s Flat Chat Wrap, JimmyT and Sue Williams discusses the possibility of having free, or non-profit strata managers. Would it work, who would use the service and wouldn’t…
Strata manglers … and how to get rid of them
When we started Flat Chat 15 years ago, strata managers were pretty much our Public Enemy No 1 (and we theirs, for that matter). It’s all my fault. I once…
Strata managers back a better cladding deal for owners
Strata management unbrella organisation Strata Community Australia say they are stepping up their fight for fairness as the issue of non-compliant aluminium cladding hits strata owners across Australia. And the…