Although this website occasionally gets questions from Victorian strata dwellers, it’s probably fair to say that we reflect the fact that Flat Chat started in the Sydney Morning Herald with most of our communications coming from NSW.
True, we get postings from Queensland, the ACT and even WA, but the bulk of the readership has been in NSW. However, that’s about to change. As of this week, Flat Chat will be appearing in the Melbourne edition of Domain and if our history of helping poeple in NSW is anything to go by, we are going to get a lot of questions from over the border.
Our presence in Victoria reflects the fact that apartment living has been changing there just as much as it has been in NSW.
Twenty years ago, flats were where people lived because they couldn’t afford a house. Units were a waypoint on the road to that quarter acre block (white picket fence optional).
These days apartment living is a positive lifestyle choice. Apartments, flats, units – call them what you will – are no longer merely a cut-price option, not least because they’re not always cheaper than houses.
Weekends spent mowing lawns and cleaning leaves out of gutters aren’t cool. Spending the equivalent of one working day a week commuting to and from the suburbs doesn’t seem so smart when you can live in the heart of the city and walk or cycle to work.
As a result, Docklands has gone from a post-industrial wasteland to a residential hot spot. First-time owners and empty-nesters are snapping up apartments and you can live in the city with more light, space and security – and better facilities and views – than you could dream of in a house.
But cultural shifts come at a cost and apartment living is no exception. We need to learn what Europeans and South Americans, New Yorkers and Londoners, have been doing for hundreds of years; living in close proximity to each other and sharing the responsibilities as well as the benefits that brings.
And while strata law is Victoria is very, very different from the law in NSW, the issues are identical. Who do you turn to when your neighbour thinks she can play her surround sound at foundation rumbling volumes because she owns her flat? Who’s on your side when the chairman of your committee turns out to have the mindset of Mussolini and interpersonal skills of Pol Pot?
Strata issues have for too long been dumped in the “too hard” basket and the “who cares?” bin, especially by newspapers that can’t see past traditional lifestyles.
If you live in Victoria and you have questions about strata, email us on vic@flatchat.com.au or you can log onto the Flat Chat Forum where apartment dwellers from all over Australia air their issues and share advice.