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FLAT CHAT WRAP

FLAT CHAT WRAP

Author: Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams

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All about living in apartments (condos), from dealing with your committee to getting on with neighbours and – a dose of healthy skepticism about dubious developers. Please subscribe by clicking on one of the icons below, to take you to your favourite podcaster.

340 Episodes
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There are myriad reasons why apartment rents are getting closer to and even, in a couple of areas, have overtaken the rents demanded for houses.Is it because the immigration tap has been turned back on for people from countries where they aren't horrified by the prospect of living in apartments/Is it because more, especially younger Aussies (wherever they originated) are seeing the benefits or apartment living outweighing the drawbacks.Or is it just that landlords have decided its time to stop discounting units just because of a fear of flatophobia?Also we take a look at the perils and potential benefits of asking for the compulsory appointments of strata managers and ask if there's any chance that NSW Fair Trading and the Attorney-General's office (which looks after the Tribunal) could start talking to each other about strata.Honestly, guys and gals, we can set it up for you.  We'll even buy the tea and bikkies.And finally, Jimmy and Sue recall the journey from Hell that almost ended their marriage before it had even started. That's all in the Flat Chat Wrap.____________________________________________________Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia.Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website.Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au.Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website.Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai; Transcription tidied up and sensified by Raphie.Find out more about Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson on their websites.
In this week’s Flat Chat Wrap podcast we look at a report that building commissioner David Chandler has issued a stop-work order at a Wollongong construction site after structural defects were discovered in a 149-unit apartment block.According to a story in on the ABC news site, Mr Chandler said the prohibition order followed the detection of a number of issues in the Crownview building in the last few years with $37m already spent on remediation but new problems with critical cable tensioning were discovered during remediation work.As a result, he announced that he was pushing to have regional offices across the state because standards are so lax outside of Sydney – and we have a take on that too.We glance in the direction of government moves to nudge baby strata managers to get themselves qualified and gain expertise in a bit more than gouging Schedule B fees from unsuspecting apartment owners.And we look at news that already has the trendoids of Sydney’s inner-west suburbs in a tizz; the NSW government wants councils in these areas close to the city centre to stop blocking low-to-medium rise apartment blocks.Add that to the Greens’ demand that the Federal Government should build 360,000 homes to be available for low-cost rents and purchases and all those former workers cottages in streets with no parking will be swallowed up … or probably not.We look at what you really want in the shops in your block and a slight change of direction for Great Escapes.That’s all in this week’s Flat Chat Wrap.____________________________________________________Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia.Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website.Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au.Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website.Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai; Transcription tidied up and sensified by Raphie.Find out more about Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson on their websites.
In this week’s pod we look at “placemaking” which seems to be designing communities just to make them nicer places to live.By nicer, of course, we mean places that don’t stress you out in the walk to and from the station every day. More trees and open spaces are a start, but then open spaces are exactly where developers want to put buildings. And trees generally get in the way of that.We look at the NSW government’s plans to bring more high and medium rises to where there are shops (rather than the other way round).  And we ask what shops we would like in our block - by way of introducing this week’s poll which asks readers what they would like to see in their building.All that and more in the pod, this week.____________________________________________________Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia.Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website.Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au.Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website.Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai; Transcription tidied up and sensified by Raphie.Find out more about Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson on their websites.
We’ve lifted a post from the Flat Chat Forum this week to illustrate two issues – one basic common sense, the other highly contentious.The post explains how a strata manager managed to legitimately charge $17,000 for sending out five emails.  Obviously, our advice would be to read the small print in your strata management contract with a focus on what the worst-case scenario might be.The other is the issue of whether the strata committee should have every owner’s email address – something way too many strata managers are not prepared to allow, regardless of what the law says.And this is a case in point. Had the strata committee sent these five emails out themselves, it would have cost them nothing apart from the time it took to click on “forward”, “group” and “send.”But you have to have the email addresses first.  You can read the detail on how five emails cost $17,000 HERE.Also in the pod, we look at the measure spreading across Australia to curb Airbnb and other short-term holiday lets to get homes back into the residential rental market.We examine, the improved but still “least-worst” deal that will probably be accepted by enough Mascot Towers owners to make it happen.And there’s a terrific 70 per cent off deal for a posh hotel near marvellous Maloolaba.That’s all in this week’s packed podcast.____________________________________________________Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia.Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website.Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au.Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website.Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai; Transcription tidied up and sensified by Raphie.Find out more about Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson on their websites.
This week on the podcast we are talking about YOU.  At least, we are talking about your pet hates, as defined by our highly unscientific and totally skewed poll on who irritates you most in your strata scheme.The poll is on the Flat Chat home page and you can see the results when you vote. Sneaky way to get clicks?  Not really.  We simply don’t want to influence your choices.Also we have a look at what’s happening – or not happening – at the Balmain Leagues Club site where plans for a new block have been put on hold again (but, it seems, for a good reason).And we check out a report that renters could have saved thousands of dollars – or even have been able to find somewhere to live – if a critical planning restriction had been eased just a little.Finally, there’s our Lock Up & Leave – a designer cabin in the bush that’s just far enough away from civilisation. Race you there!____________________________________________________Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia.Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website.Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au.Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website.Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai; Transcription tidied up and sensified by Raphie.Find out more about Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson on their websites.
There’s some good news, some bad news and some great news in this week’s Flat Chat Wrap.The good news (for investors) is that apartment prices and rents are going through the roof in Brisbane. The boom is being stimulated by preparations for the 2032 Olympics and an influx of new residents.Of course, what’s good news for investors is generally bad news for tenants and not only are they facing rising rents and shortages of available properties in the Sunshine state, they’d think twice before escaping to Victoria.There rents are rising but properties are falling, as in falling down.  An “undercover” inspection of properties offered for rent in Victoria  by the Consumer Policy Research Centre (CPRC) and Tenants Victoria revealed one-third of them failed to meet some of the basic living or safety standards.And if you want to get away from all the doom and gloom, our Lock Up & Leave this week is a half-price, food and drink included, no-kids stay in a fancy hotel in Sorrento – the one in Italy, not the one in the Mornington Peninsula.All that for $2k – less than a long weekend in a party flat in Docklands.  It’s all in the Flat Chat Wrap.____________________________________________________Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia.Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website.Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au.Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website.Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai; Transcription tidied up and sensified by Raphie.Find out more about Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson on their websites.
This week we take a deep dive into the next swathe of proposed NSW strata reforms which will include attempts to cut through the baloney and BS and make it easier for owners to overturn unfair contracts.What does that mean, exactly.  Well, when you realise that the maintenance fee for your stormwater drains actually includes the cost of installing them – which should have been borne by the developer – then that would be unfair.Or when your strata management contract has a clause that says you and not they will be liable for bad decisions they make on your behalf, that seems kind of unfair too.By the way, the final proposals will be posted for consideration and comment in April, so keep your keyboards poised for that.  There’s a lot more about this and other proposals in the pod.Also this week we wrap up our trials and tribulations over our legal right to hold the strata roll and emails, and a very big strata firm’s country branch’s efforts to keep them from us.Finally we have a very spicy Lock Up and Leave tour of the sub-continent. That’s all in this week’s Flat Chat Wrap. ____________________________________________________Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia.Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website.Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au.Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website.Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai; Transcription tidied up and sensified by Raphie.Find out more about Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson on their websites.
When newspaper reports presented the story about the defects in the Lachlan's Line apartment block in Macquarie Park, as if it was another Mascot Towers, Building Commissioner scolded journalists, assuring everyone that there was no need to panic.There would be no evacuations, he said, but admitted his department might need to consider the language it uses when alerting the public to problems in apartment blocks.Meanwhile a fire that gutted a unit in Bondi has alarm bells ringing over eBike batteries.  Should we panic over this? Or is just the combination of flats shared by delivery riders that need closer scrutiny.  A webinar hosted by the OCN in a couple of weeks promises to get to the bottom of it (and provide a model by-law for members). And finally, our Lock Up and Leave this week features the foodie tour with celebrity chefs that you have without the celebrity chefs ... or the eye-watering price tag.  That's all in the Flat Chat Wrap.____________________________________________________Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia.Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website.Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au.Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website.Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai; Transcription tidied up and sensified by Raphie.Find out more about Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson on their websites.
After three pods in a row about Mascot Towers, we decided you (and we) needed a break so we are heading off to the seaside – figuratively, not literally – to see how property prices are doing on the North and South coasts of NSW.One report has said that prices in some coastal areas have bounced back more than those in the city, while others have said there are bargains to be had outside (but not too far) the city limits.So what’s going on?  We know office workers are being encouraged to go back to their offices and hybrid working hours are becoming popular.Maybe all that means that Seachange properties that are within commutable distance are holding the line while weekenders – properties that are outside, say two hours from town – are going back to being what they were intended for and dropping in price accordingly.After that, we can’t avoid Mascot Towers completely and we’ll be looking at who the winners (if any) and losers are as they hurtle towards the owners vote to accept or reject the David Chandler-wrangled offer early next month.That’s all in the Flat Chat wrap____________________________________________________Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia.Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website.Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au.Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website.Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai; Transcription tidied up and sensified by Raphie.Find out more about Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson on their websites.
We’re back and this is an absolute blockbuster, which, considering the topic, is an oddly ironic term.Last week Sue had an exclusive interview with NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler about the benighted Mascot Towers – the building that started crumbling about five years ago and whose evacuated former residents have been living in rental accommodations since.Did I say five years? Turns out the towers had defects long before that.  So how did David Chandler wrangle a possible (read probable) resolution between resident-owners who just want out, commercial lot owners and residents who want to stay, investors, banks and strata lenders?  You could read our very own Sue Williams’ exclusive report in the Sydney Morning Herald … or Jimmy’s column in the Australian Financial Review, but first listen to this merely fascinating podcast where we hear David Chandler himself, make sense of it all.____________________________________________________Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia.Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website.Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au.Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website.Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai; Transcription tidied up and sensified by Raphie.Find out more about Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson on their websites.
We have an absolute rock star podcast guest this week, in NSW Building Commission Policy Director Angus Abadee.Angus gave us a good 20 minutes of his valuable time to explain what the recent expansion of the building commission means, as well as the significance of the new laws passed recently.The topics touched on included how they identify and approach developers they think might be cutting corners and building defects into their blocks – with a 90 per cent hit rate in that regard.How they are helping low-rise developers who want to move up in the world, literally, by building medium-rise developments but lack the skills and experience to make the transition efficiently and effectively.He spoke about how they and their counterparts in other states confer on key issues, and he confirmed that there are fewer reports of apartment building defects in Victoria simply because they are a couple of years behind NSW in identifying the problems – not because the problems don’t exist.And he addresses the next challenge for the Building Commission – dealing with defects in older buildings that are outside their warranty periods.We should note that this podcast came with its own construction problems. It was recorded using a hand-held device next to a computer speaker because Zoom had decided to remove or hide its “record” button.  It was edited on a laptop on our flight to Fiji then compiled into this post and uploaded to the internet from inside our holiday “bure” on Malolo Island.All of which is to explain the less-than-perfect audio as well as to hope you think it was worth the effort when you hear it. ____________________________________________________Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia.Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website.Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au.Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website.Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai; Transcription tidied up and sensified by Raphie.Find out more about Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson on their websites.
Don’t know if Building Commissioner David Chandler has a hotline to Santa but with the  Building Commission being boosted from 40 to 400 inspectors, you’d have to think his Christmas wishes have come true.Then there’s the government plan to compel developers to include affordable and social housing in their schemes if they want to get approval – no trade-offs or sneaky deals for added floors. And there are the first hints of the proposals to open up land around rail hubs – which would be accidentally posted online, just as we were recording the pod.We talk about the valid concerns over e-bike and e-scooter batteries, and some solutions, but point out that apartment blocks are far from being the most at risk.We thank the people who contributed to our being the most successful fundraising team in the MedEarth Trails For Change walk (but it’s not too late to contribute HERE).And we discover that this week’s Lock Up and Leave is not only close to home but close to Sue’s heart as one of her favourite holiday resort hotels in the whole world.  That’s all in this weeks’ Flat Chat Wrap.____________________________________________________Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia.Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website.Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au.Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website.Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai; Transcription tidied up and sensified by Raphie.Find out more about Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson on their websites.
It’s a packed Wrap this week with a lot happening in and around strata. Global credit rating and data analysis agency Equifax – the people who measure how many of David Chandler’s gold stars developers should get – have conducted a survey into how confident apartment buyers are in the properties they plan to purchase.The answer is “not very” … unless they have a few of those highly sought-after gold stars to add some shine to their sales spin.The Mascot Towers saga has taken another twist with owners refused permission to terminate the strata scheme with a view to walking away from their mounting debts.  What now for this benighted block and its emotionally and financially broken owners?And talking of defective buildings, what does the supercharging of NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler’s powers in legislation that’s about to become law actually mean.And finally we celebrate a travel writing award for Sue and join her on our Lock Up and Leave “Pick of the Trips”, by train across India – recalling a journey she took with her late Mum.____________________________________________________Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia.Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website.Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au.Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website.Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai; Transcription tidied up and sensified by Raphie.Find out more about Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson on their websites.
In this week’s Flat Chat Wrap we talk about the proposal to introduce architectural pattern books in NSW.Will they mean even more cookie-cutter apartment blocks or will  it simply result in the buildings that we need in a hurry not looking like they were designed in a primary school handicrafts project?Then we look at what has happened at an apartment block that was only a few years ago named as the best residential building in the world.Falling planter boxes and rising concern about flammable cladding have blotted the Central Park tower’s copybook.  Now the truly iconic building in Broadway, Sydney, has to work through these issues with multiple strata committees each having their say.  Wish them luck.Next we pick up on perennial parking problems and some innovative (and only slightly illegal) methods for dealing with rogue parkers (aka parking thieves).Parking illegally in a multi-storey car park is wrong on so many levels. (Joke Stolen from Tim Vine).And finally, our Lock Up and Leave Pick of the Trips takes us on a small group tour to the Land of the Rising Sun. ____________________________________________________Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia.Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website.Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au.Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website.Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai; Transcription tidied up and sensified by Raphie.Find out more about Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson on their websites.
Some big, big issues have shuffled shamelessly into the glare of the podcast spotlight his week.Firstly we talk about the buying and selling of management rights and how that has become a huge, $8billion dollar business nationally.Should we be worried that this is starting to creep into NSW and Victoria from Queensland, where the legalised rorting of apartment owners through pre-selling the rights to run their buildings all began?What does it mean for owners in new buildings in the other states who will doubtless be told that selling 25-year contracts to commercial entities is “standard practice”?And what are the implications for Queensland owners’ desperate attempts to get its pro-developer state government to put a cork in the bottle even if the genie can’t be persuaded to get back into it?The other big issue is the appalling state of rental affordability in Sydney, especially, which includes a dire prediction from Jimmy that sounds suspiciously like a disruptive call to action.Finally, we have big news about the podcast itself, plus our Lock up and Leave Pick of the Trips, and a tribute to our most dedicated listener of all.____________________________________________________Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia.Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website.Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au.Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website.Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai; Transcription tidied up and sensified by Raphie.Find out more about Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson on their websites.
The Wrap has gone all-electric this week, starting with Sue resolutely defending her e-scooter in the face of growing fears about fires from Lithium-ion batteries (and Jimmy’s column from the AFR).So what causes ebike and escooter battery fires? How do you prevent them? What is “thermal runaway”? And what can apartment blocks do to keep its residents safe when there are potentially dangerous batteries being charged up inside units in the block?Also, without the slightest sense of irony, we discuss the NSW government plans to offer $80 million in grants to more than 100 apartment blocks to help with the costs of installing EV charging points in apartment block car parks.And Jimmy talks about the initial AGM of a new apartment block where efforts to pass embedded network contracts were up for a challenge. (Just to continue the electrical theme, there was another embedded network contract for electricity that was debated but we don’t really talk about that in the pod).And finally, there’s this week’s Lock Up and Leave – a hike in southern France which sounds like it involved more eating than walking.That’s all in this week’s Flat Chat Wrap.____________________________________________________Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia.Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website.Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au.Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website.Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai; Transcription tidied up and sensified by Raphie.Find out more about Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson on their websites.
In this week’s Flat Chat Wrap we welcome freshly minted Strata Commissioner John Minns (not to be confused with NSW Premier Chris Minns) to tell us about his new role, his challenges and hopes.For the past two years John has been NSW Property Services Commissioner, keeping an eye on real estate agents, strata managers and building managers – and lots of ancillary professions and trades.Now he’s taking strata under his wing in an expanded role – and it’s quite an expansion.In today’s podcast we talk about “cradle to grave” regulations for strata schemes, training and licensing, transparency and the 139 recommendations for strata law reforms currently before parliament.We touch on Airbnb and unlicensed operators, embedded networks  and initial AGMs.  John even listens to Jimmy’s “out there“ idea for fast-track dispute resolution and how it could be turned into a TV show combining the appeal of  Judge Judy with The Block.It’s a longer-than-usual episode of the podcast, and the Zoom audio quality is not perfect, but it makes fascinating listening, hearing what John’s priorities are and the challenges he faces.____________________________________________________Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia.Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website.Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au.Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website.Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai; Transcription tidied up and sensified by Raphie.Find out more about Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson on their websites.
We’re heading across the border to Victoria this week where the Greens are flexing their balance-of-power muscle by demanding changes to the state housing program, as detailed in this post on the Flat Chat website.We ask what it is that they want, and which demands they are most likely to negotiate away to get other elements of the deal over the line.Will it be their demand for 30 per cent of all schemes to be affordable or social housing?Or will it be the stringent curbs on Airbnb and its ilk.  The latters may be low-hanging fruit but nationally the Greens have a patchy track record when it comes to short-term holiday lets.And if you’re thinking, “it’s Victoria, so what?” don’t forget that the states use each other as guinea pigs and any policy that works in one territory is likely to find its way to its neighbours before too long.We also relate how NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler’s iCirt gold star rating system has become such a valuable asset for developers that some are saying they have it when they haven’t even applied.  Naughty, naughty!And we introduce an escape from the stress and tension of apartment living with our new “lock up and leave” feature that highlights our personal choices from all the terrific holiday deals on our Mildrover website. By the way, if the sound quality isn’t quite up to our usual standard it may be because it was a Zoom call to a motel in Lismore.____________________________________________________Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia.Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website.Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au.Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website.Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai; Transcription tidied up and sensified by Raphie.Find out more about Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson on their websites.
In this week’s podcast we find ourselves victims of the kind of scams we have been warning people about for a couple of years.We are about to go to the first AGM of our new apartment block and have discovered there is a very meaty embedded network rort afoot.Rather than pay for a vital piece of infrastructure, our developers want us to lease it at an exorbitant rate and one which will add up to be double what they say it costs.How can that be?  What can we do?  You’ll have to listen to the podcast to find out.Also we go through all the nitty-gritty of the changes in NSW strata laws – it’s not all about pets and forced sales.And we discover why strata managers think Jimmy is running a vendetta against them.  Hey, it was just one joke in which a strata manager was a homicidal maniac. Where’s the harm?  Judge for yourself, in this week’s Flat Chat Wrap____________________________________________________Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia.Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website.Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au.Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website.Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai; Transcription tidied up and sensified by Raphie.Find out more about Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson on their websites.
There’s good news for those abandoned covid fur-babies and the apartment residents who’d love to offer them new homes. The highly dubious tactics clearly aimed at deterring people from having pets in apartments – workarounds for the ban on blanket pet bans, if you like – will be knocked over in proposed changes to NSW strata law.Application fees, pet bonds and demands for additional insurance cover will be no more. These are among several tweaks to strata law on the way in NSW but you’d better believe policy wonks in all the states watch each other’s laws like hawks – and any or all of these changes could be coming your way soon.Also on the hit list, Fair Trading will be able to recommend dysfunctional schemes have compulsory strata managers appointed to take over the running of the block, putting failed strata committees into deep freeze for a couple of years.Opportunist developers will have to declare conflicts of interest – and face having costs awarded against them – if they try to use strata funds to combat competing plans.And all strata schemes, regardless of size will need to get two quotes for work that’s going to cost more than $30,000.Finally, we have a strata commissioner.  Property Services Commissioner John Minns has had strata added to his portfolio.We examine how that could be a good or bad development, and pick the bones out of all the above on this week’s podcast.____________________________________________________Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia.Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website.Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au.Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website.Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai; Transcription tidied up and sensified by Raphie.Find out more about Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson on their websites.
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