March 2012

In defence of right to air undies

29 Mar 2012

In these days of modern apartment living, we are often deprived, through clumsily worded, poorly understood and obsessively enforced strata committee bylaws, of many rights, including the right to truly private outdoor spaces. Yet the functions carried out on them and need for such spaces have not gone away.

Read the full opinion piece in the Sydney Morning Herald

Unit owners want better standards

29 Mar 2012

The industry group representing developers of medium density housing in Canberra should show more interest in raising building standards, say unit owners.

Read the full article by John Thistleton in Domain

Apartment Owner Survey

Owners are invited to participate in this confidential and anonymous survey that is being conducted by the City of Melbourne's Hi-Res project and Swinburne University. Upon completion each respondent is offered a complimentary movie ticket voucher.

The survey is seeking to understand more about apartment owners' dealings with their owners corporation and seeks direct input into the development of an online sustainability tool-kit for owners corporations.

Sydney's strata surprises: saga of horse next door, the trout farm and 'Niagara Falls'

21 Mar 2012

The number of complaints about strata schemes has been steadily increasing over the past decade, rising from 945 requests for strata mediation lodged with NSW Fair Trading in 2003 to 1405 in 2009 and 1474 last year.

Read the full article by Alexandra Smith in the Sydney Morning Herald

Deals on wheels

03 Mar 2012

Buyers are saving money by car sharing. No car means no hassles with parking.

Read the full article by Susan Wellings in Domain

Strata smokers breathe easy

03 Mar 2012

Hurrah! People who live in apartment buildings will soon be forbidden from smoking outside their buildings' entrances. A sight we see, um, never because they can smoke in their units or on their balconies.

Read the full article by Jimmy Thomson in Domain