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Baffled by by-laws?  Confused by committees? Mystified by the multiplicity of managers in strata?   Don’t worry – help is on the way. An abundance of experts are lining up to offer advice to strata residents, and among them are City of Sydney Council … as they should be.

According to CoS,  75 percent of Sydney city residents live in high rise apartments – five times higher than the national average.  So they are holding free workshops called Strata Skills 101, to cover everything from buying off the plan to running an executive committee.

The workshops run on Tuesday nights from 6pm to 8pm.  The first on, on Tuesday September 9, is on how to find the right apartment for your needs and aspirations. The next on September 16, is on pets in high-rise apartments and will be presented by animal behaviourist Dr Jo Righetti.

Following topics include one on new executive committee members (October 14), the Sinking Fund (October 28), meetings and minutes (November 18) and the handover from developer to owners (November 25). The sessions are free but places are limited so booking is essential. Call 02 9265 9333 or visit strataskills101 on the City of Sydney website.

Over the Harbour in Willoughby, the council is also very active on apartment living issues and their next strata-specific session is on retro-fitting energy efficient lighting to save your building a lot of money (and help the planet). The seminar, with lighting expert Julian Freed, is from 6.30pm to 8pm on Thursday, September 18.

Places are limited so booking is essential. You can find out more here or call Nicola Faith on 9777 7691 or email her on  Nicola.Faith@Willoughby.nsw.gov.au.

Strata Community Australia (the strata managers organisation) are holding a session on how to run an executive committee on the afternoon of Wednesday, September 17 from 4pm to 6pm. Again, places are limited so email enquiries.nsw@stratacommunity.org.au  or call 02 9492 8200 to book.

And finally, Flat Chat Live is on again with yours truly hosting a panel of strata experts in a “Q&A without make-up” situation, in which we try to untangle your curliest questions. It’s on the morning of October 25. Go to the Strata Owners Day page on the SCA NSW website and you’ll find everything you need to know.

And, of course, there are even more tricky questions and good advice on the Forum. Let us know about any strata related information sessions in your area and we’ll post them here.