disputes

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

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

Owners issue 10-point election manifesto

2024-01-30T18:38:25+11:00

8 NOVEMBER 2022 The Owners Corporation Network (OCN) announced this week that they plan to be actively involved in the NSW state election, potentially tapping into the voting power of NSW’s one million-plus strata residents. With that in mind, they have now issued their 10-point manifesto and are calling for strata owners’ support in promoting policies that can become part of the debate heading for the state elections next year. Read [...]

Owners issue 10-point election manifesto2024-01-30T18:38:25+11:00

Stink of politicians and property developers hard to wash away

2020-10-22T15:16:54+11:00

21 OCTOBER 2020 We had no idea how far the disease had spread until the autopsy was carried out. We’d known something was wrong because there was no mistaking that pungent smell of rot and decay. But when we peered into those dark cavities after the first incision was made and the fragile skin had been peeled back, the full horror of it all became clear. By then, the culprit was long [...]

Stink of politicians and property developers hard to wash away2020-10-22T15:16:54+11:00

Sydney pet owners get shock win in the battle against apartment pet bans

2020-10-07T04:21:26+11:00

26 AUGUST 2020 It could soon be near-impossible for any apartment building to vote to keep pets out after a last-minute amendment to an unrelated bill scored a shock win in the NSW Legislative Council just before 10pm on Tuesday night. The move by the Animal Justice Party (AJP) means that, if the bill is passed by the Lower House in September, no strata scheme will be allowed to have a [...]

Sydney pet owners get shock win in the battle against apartment pet bans2020-10-07T04:21:26+11:00

Puddle sets off epic dog fight

2020-10-07T04:24:39+11:00

22 AUGUST 2020 The day her miniature schnauzer urinated in the lobby of her luxury Sydney apartment block is one of the most traumatic of Jo Cooper’s 30-plus years. There is never a good time for a dog to wee in a lavish foyer, although Cooper insists it’s not much different to the coffee and salad spillages she has witnessed over five years of living in the award-winning, officially pet-free building. [...]

Puddle sets off epic dog fight2020-10-07T04:24:39+11:00

NSW opens door to thousands of defect claims

2020-10-07T14:42:37+11:00

15 JUNE 2020 Thousands of apartment owners in NSW now have a way to launch claims over cladding, water proofing and fire safety defects after a new law created a duty of care for builders, consultants and developers to end users in the construction chain, even without a contractual relationship linking them. The Design & Building Practitioners Bill 2020, which came into effect last week, gives the state's apartment owners the [...]

NSW opens door to thousands of defect claims2020-10-07T14:42:37+11:00

Sydney apartment buildings win the fight against pets on appeal

2020-10-07T04:46:01+11:00

27 May 2020 Two of Sydney’s biggest apartment towers have won their battle to ban owners’ pets from their buildings in a verdict that will have far-reaching repercussions for NSW strata residents. The 260-apartment Horizon in Darlinghurst and the 280-unit Elan in Kings Cross had lost the right in previous cases before the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) to enforce their bylaws to keep their premises animal free. But, now [...]

Sydney apartment buildings win the fight against pets on appeal2020-10-07T04:46:01+11:00

Strata lawyers need to dial down the TV drama

2020-09-21T21:54:44+10:00

20 May 2020 I received an email from a long-time Flat-chatter the other day who attached a letter they had received from their strata committee’s lawyer. The letter demanded they withdraw a case at the NSW Tribunal. It was one of the most blatant examples of bullying I have ever seen (and I have seen a few). I can’t go into too much detail without identifying the combatants, but suffice to [...]

Strata lawyers need to dial down the TV drama2020-09-21T21:54:44+10:00

Unit Dwellers Powerless to Stop Electricity Rip-Off

2020-10-06T22:14:44+11:00

29 December 2019 People living in apartments are being treated as “second class citizens” by paying more for electricity after the state government abandoned plans for reforms which would have saved people thousands of dollars on power bills. The NSW government is being blasted for allowing developers and electricity providers to continue to run monopolies in new buildings. Owners Corporation Network's Karen Stiles said the government had let down unit owners. [...]

Unit Dwellers Powerless to Stop Electricity Rip-Off2020-10-06T22:14:44+11:00
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