New Fair Trading minister has Western Suburbs edge
Remind us never to get into the business of political sophistry – our predictions of who would get what ministry in the new Minns government in NSW fell spectacularly short.…
strata
SBS doco plots Scots’ plan to curb Airbnb
An episode of the SBS doco series Dateline is shining the spotlight on what some see as one of the greatest failures of government regulation in Australia – the largely…
How owners and media keep a lid on problems
Our media has a strange relationship with strata issues. It’s often a passive conspiracy of silence between journalists and owners, in which secrecy, confusion, erroneous assumptions and wilful ignorance either…
Podcast: Power shifts but does strata matter?
Ah, the perils of trusting poll predictions immediately after an election. While Labor have definitely won and Chris Minns is definitely the new Premier of NSW, the balance of power…
Rent bidding ban has backfired, say RE agents
The NSW Government’s ban on agents from engaging in ‘rent bidding’ has backfired, as tenants are not only now more aware that they can offer above the asking rent, they…
Aurora shambles exposes deep flaws in Vic strata
An owners’ revolt at a 1000-unit apartment building in Melbourne has highlighted the crippling inadequacies of Victoria’s strata laws and tribunal system. And it illustrates how a built-in lack of…
Free webinars on defects, waterproofing and S237
Waterproofing, the lack thereof or flaws therein, is consistently one of the most widely spread yet least understood issues in strata. However, the Owners Corporation Network (OCN) is making a…
Forum: Broken fence lets dog get at next-door cat
This week’s lead post has a tragic (and nasty) pet story at its heart as well as a twisty fence angle that will have all our legally minded Flatchatters intrigued.…
Podcast: Pets, new-build guarantees and refugees
This week’s podcast may have an international flavour – Jimmy is in Scotland and Sue in Sydney — but it covers familiar territory. First up we talk about a campaign…
Strata managers demand support for Chandler
Strata managers in NSW have “warned” whichever party is in power after next month’s government election that they must continue supporting the work of David Chandler and the Office of…
Forum: Can owners corp back resident in dispute?
At the risk of infuriating mental health professionals and family members of sufferers, I have to say there are few things worse in strata than having a “crazy” neighbour. I’m…
Pouring chilled water on the govt ‘gift’ to strata
It’s starting to feel like strata in NSW is one big marginal electoral constituency – except the government can’t give apartment dwellers sports stadia and railway stations. What they can…