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Delta and Apartment Pools and Gyms: Strata in Limbo
OCN MEDIA RELEASE: 19 SEPTEMBER 2021 As the Premier said today, the Delta virus does not care who you are or where you live. “The Premier put the cat among the pigeons on Sunday announcing that local council pools will open on Monday 27 September. While this is very welcome and is clearly public pools, strata committees will get increasing requests and demands for the reopening of common strata facilities.”, [...]
OCN Calls for Health Strategy for Apartment Communities
OCN MEDIA RELEASE: 20 AUGUST 2021 Health NSW needs a clearer strategy for directing and supporting apartment communities. The Chief Health Officer, Dr Chant, is rightly concerned about transmission in apartment buildings. Across Sydney these are chock full of residents. But the Public Health Orders treat a 40-storey high rise exactly the same as a free-standing home. That is a mistake. Strata Committees cannot manage a pandemic through by-laws. They [...]
First Fifty Developers To Be Risk Rated Using New Tool
OCN MEDIA RELEASE: 28 JULY 2021 Executive Officer at Owners Corporation Network, Karen Stiles said the tool will take the guesswork out of buying an apartment in NSW. "The last thing prospective owners need is to spend their life savings buying into a problematic building, but in the past consumers have had to rely on the developer's word that the property is a safe and sound investment," Ms Stiles said. "This [...]
‘Vertical Cruise Ships’ Left High and Dry
OCN MEDIA RELEASE: 25 June 2021 “The NSW strata sector is calling for greater clarity in Public Health Orders for apartment complexes”, Karen Stiles, Executive Officer of OCN said today. “The truth is there is no strata voice at the table”, she said. “This is why we have been calling for a Commissioner for Strata Living. We need someone at the table who understands how apartment buildings and apartment communities [...]
Rubber Hits the Road with new NSW EV Policies
OCN MEDIA RELEASE: 21 June 2021 Australia may currently have fewer electric vehicles on the road than places like Europe, but this is likely to change quickly with policies like the NSW Government’s recently announced $490 Million Electric Vehicle Support package. The measures have been welcomed by peak strata owners body, Owners Corporation Network (OCN). “We congratulate the NSW Government on now having the nation’s most ambitious EV policies,” said [...]
How Can we Make Strata Communities Safer Places?
OCN MEDIA RELEASE: 9 June 2021 Strata residents in Sydney have been warned by police to ensure their buildings, car parking and storage spaces are secure following an escalation in thefts and break-ins. To ensure residents have the information they need to better manage the risks of criminal activities, Owners Corporation Network is hosting a free, on-line webinar open to anyone living in strata, anywhere in Australia. The Be Safe [...]
Straight from the source: insights on strata sector shakeup
OCN MEDIA RELEASE: 2 June 2021 As the New South Wales government implements substantial reforms to the design, delivery and consumer protections for apartments, many owners have been left wondering what it means for them. The Owners Corporation Network OCN, with support from City of Sydney, is holding a live event that will give attendees an opportunity to get the facts straight from the source. Strata Matters on 20 July [...]
Unpacking strata living involves more than your moving boxes
OCN MEDIA RELEASE: 1 June 2021 One thing the real estate ads don’t tell homebuyers about moving into a strata apartment or townhouse is the finer details of what makes this fast-growing property sector unique. Lack of understanding around regulations, community by-laws, common property and levies is common, and can make for a challenging adjustment period. Owners Corporation Network (OCN), the independent voice of apartment owners, in partnership with Strata Answers, [...]
Quasi Hotels Here to Stay
OCN MEDIA RELEASE: 13 April 2021 “The NSW Government “announced” its final Short Term Letting policy late Friday, with no warning to housing organisations”, Jane Hearn, OCN spokesperson said today. “In a bizarre twist, the Minister has legalised Airbnb in the Affordable Rental Housing SEPP, disguising the mass transfer of critical housing to the tourist market”. “It takes some chutzpah to give into Airbnb and Expedia in the middle of [...]
Going to the Dogs: D-Day for Strata By-Law
OCN MEDIA RELEASE: 15 September 2020 The Owners Corporation Network (OCN) is calling on the NSW opposition and cross bench to withdraw their support for a controversial law threatening to destabilise the strata system – robbing people who live in apartments of the ability to set their own bylaws. Legislation amended by the Animal Justice Party (AJP) and set for possible debate this fortnight, will allow people to bring [...]
Barking Mad Changes to Strata By-Laws Could Spark Lord of the Flies in Apartment Buildings
OCN MEDIA RELEASE: 13 September 2020 The comfort and safety of more than one million NSW residents in apartment buildings is at risk, with a shock amendment to legislation threatening to shake the strata system to its core. Last month a minor political party snuck an amendment through the NSW Upper House which effectively allows apartment dwellers to keep pets even if it’s against the building’s bylaws: 137B Keeping [...]
OCN Provides Qualified Support for NSW Building Reform Bills
OCN MEDIA RELEASE: 3 June 2020 Owners Corporation Network provides qualified support for NSW government’s building reform Bills Jane Hearn, Chair of the Owners Corporation Network (OCN), the only consumer based organisation representing apartment owners in NSW, today welcomed the re-introduction of the Design and Building Practitioners Bill 2019 (DBP Bill) and the introduction of the Residential Apartment Buildings (Compliance and Enforcement) Bill 2020 (RAB Bill) into NSW Parliament [...]
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