OCN Executive Director

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So far OCN Executive Director has created 175 blog entries.

The ‘extra obstacle’ for owners clashing with body corporates over building defects

2023-07-19T17:35:13+10:00

16 JULY 2023 The number of people applying for strata scheme mediation has surged by 45 per cent in five years as owners clash with owners corporations over building defects and repairs. The average wait time for parties to meet with a mediator was three months, NSW Fair Trading confirmed, while it takes another four months on average for a resolution for those who escalated the issue to the NSW Civil [...]

The ‘extra obstacle’ for owners clashing with body corporates over building defects2023-07-19T17:35:13+10:00

NSW’s building industry is reforming after years of apartment defects, but comes too late for many owners

2024-01-11T12:21:19+11:00

15 JULY 2023 Brian Tucker is forking out thousands of dollars on quarterly strata fees and paying down his mortgage on an apartment that's been uninhabitable for more than four years. So far this year NSW Fair Trading has issued more than 30 work rectification orders across building sites, including The Laneways Rosebery, which remains empty and has serious structural defects, and Toplace's Vicinity complex in Canterbury over "potential serious defects". [...]

NSW’s building industry is reforming after years of apartment defects, but comes too late for many owners2024-01-11T12:21:19+11:00

Apartment owners fear multi-million-dollar repair bill after developer Toplace goes into administration

2024-01-11T12:24:28+11:00

13 JULY 2023 Patrick Quintal was newly married and eager to begin a fresh chapter when he bought a Sydney apartment two years ago. Now the IT manager feels financially trapped, fearing a $180,000 repair bill after the developer of his apartment, Toplace, went into administration. Karen Stiles, head of peak residential strata body Owners Corporation Network, said the situation surrounding Toplace was "not a one-off occurrence". She said apartment owners [...]

Apartment owners fear multi-million-dollar repair bill after developer Toplace goes into administration2024-01-11T12:24:28+11:00

Premier urges fugitive developer to turn himself in

2023-07-13T13:46:31+10:00

12 JULY 2023 Controversial Sydney developer Jean Nassif is being urged to submit to authorities as his company collapses, a month after a warrant was issued for his arrest. NSW Fair Trading this week said it was working with Strata Communities Australia and the Owners Corporation Network to help strata managers and owners in Toplace buildings. The agency advised buyers with deposits on off-the-plan Toplace sales to contact their conveyancer or legal [...]

Premier urges fugitive developer to turn himself in2023-07-13T13:46:31+10:00

Patrick’s apartment block has defects. He has nightmares of being buried beneath rubble

2023-07-13T13:42:39+10:00

11 JULY 2023 Every time IT manager Patrick Quintal leaves work to travel home, he feels sick with dread that his apartment building may no longer be standing. Each night when he goes to sleep, he dreams about waking up buried beneath rubble. The former chair of apartment peak body, the Owners Corporation Network, Stephen Goddard, says Vicinity has all the hallmarks of the Mascot Towers disaster. “At this stage it [...]

Patrick’s apartment block has defects. He has nightmares of being buried beneath rubble2023-07-13T13:42:39+10:00

How strata schemes are letting down Sydney’s apartment owners

2024-01-11T12:28:45+11:00

9 JULY 2023 When Eloise O’Connell joined the strata committee for her apartment in Liverpool, their first task was to raise the fees to prevent insolvency. “Whether your building can be well run is just by the sheer luck of the combination of people who put their hands forward,” O’Connell said. Head of the peak body for residential strata owners the Owners Corporation Network Karen Stiles said the strata management industry [...]

How strata schemes are letting down Sydney’s apartment owners2024-01-11T12:28:45+11:00

‘Dob in a developer’ scheme extended as builders forced to fix defects

2024-01-11T12:31:50+11:00

11 JUNE 2023 Builders and developers have been told to fix shonky work across 33 properties by NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler, as the government announces an extension to the building dispute resolution scheme. Project Intervene allows owners’ corporations to dob in serious defects in common areas of buildings, provided the buildings are four or more stories high and built less than six years ago, and have the commissioner negotiate with [...]

‘Dob in a developer’ scheme extended as builders forced to fix defects2024-01-11T12:31:50+11:00

Demand for more EV charging stations across Sydney suburbs

2023-05-16T09:58:53+10:00

12 APRIL 2023 Sydney’s North Shore and eastern suburbs apartment dwellers are stuck in a catch-22 where they can afford an electric vehicle but have nowhere at home to charge it. They say more education is needed for strata committees and while the Labor federal government is moving in the right direction, there is still much more that can be done to stop Australia being a “massive graveyard” for high-emission vehicles. [...]

Demand for more EV charging stations across Sydney suburbs2023-05-16T09:58:53+10:00

Now is the Perfect Time to Fix Broken Strata System

2023-05-24T14:16:11+10:00

6 MARCH 2023 The "opportunities" the new Minister has range from an out of control residential market to a stuttering strata complaints system, via an unprecedented housing crisis. One significant step forward the new government could take would be to support the Owners Corporation Network, which represents strata owners, with substantial guaranteed finance for the next four years, as it does with the Tenants' Union. Apartment owners are not the enemy [...]

Now is the Perfect Time to Fix Broken Strata System2023-05-24T14:16:11+10:00
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