NCAT: New name, same problems?
Way back in the early days of Flat Chat – about 11 years ago – I wrote a piece for the Sydney Morning Herald called “Send In The Clowns” which…
strata
Owners balk at booting Auntie out of her flat
The Auntie Mabels of Strataland can sleep a little more soundly. For all the huffing and puffing about forced sales of apartments, the big bad wolves of property development won’t…
Why poor areas will miss out on urban renewal
Owners of units in crumbling apartment blocks in poorer areas of Sydney may be stuck with them indefinitely, according to a new report, while their better-off counterparts in in more…
Funny you should say that …
On the subject of the incredible and, let’s face it, stupid things people do in apartments, our old friend Stephen Raff has compiled a book of funny stories collected from…
Cellar dwellers undermine strata laws
Just when we thought we had read everything, along come two owners who have illegally created cellars under their units. They have cut holes in their floors, removed soil and…
Bylaw balks broadband bullies
See below for a link to the pro forma by-law As the roll-out of NBN superfast broadband continues to apartment blocks, a plan has been evolved to prevent “broadband bullies” from effectively locking…
Con artists scare owners over forced strata sales
This column first appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald’s Domain section. You can find a comprehensive explanation of the process involved in strata renewal here in Forced Sales Process Explained and you…
Forced sales process explained
Recent reforms to NSW strata law, allowing forced sales of apartments for urban renewal, are not as simple as a developer turning up with a cheque book and carting Auntie…
Barbecue smoke ban just hot air
So smoke from barbecues on high-rise balconies is about to be banned under NSW’s proposed new strata laws? What a load of baloney! The law has long forbidden people from…
Cop this: Can police give permission for a noisy party?
Can you get police permission to hold a noisy party in an apartment block? Let’s say you live in a unit and you like to throw the occasional big party. …
Are strata dwellers being sold out?
Are we long-term strata dwellers being treated – yet again – as second-class citizens? Last week, submissions into the review of strata laws in NSW closed, with the hottest topic…
Loophole could let pets off the leash
Want to share your space with an animal in a pet-free building? Just get your doctor to sign a letter saying you need it for “assistance”. That seems to be…