From October 2023, a new federal policy will come into place for electric vehicles (EV’s) relating to EV charging in apartment blocks. The new policy states that it is mandatory for all apartment buildings to be built allowing for EV charging infrastructure. But… what about existing older strata buildings and the growing demand for EV’s […]
Philippines: Tali troubles
Trouble has been brewing at the exclusive Tali Beach Resort in Batangas ahead of its homeowners association’s annual elections tomorrow, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023. From all indications, a team of nine directors looks likely to retain control of the board of directors of the upscale resort, but several other homeowners are chafing at the voting […]
Jamaica: The importance of paying your maintenance
Strata-living has become the reality for most homeowners on the island. Whether it be an apartment or a complex with apartments and townhomes, there is a common thread across every strata property, and that is the owners’ contribution to maintenance. Read the article………………………..
Philippines: Subdivision Rules and Regulations in the Philippines
Subdivisions in the Philippines are becoming an increasingly popular form of housing for many Filipinos, as they offer a sense of community, security, and amenities. However, it’s important to be aware of the rules and regulations that govern these communities, as they can vary from one subdivision to another. Read the article………………………..
Malta: Condominium pandemonium
We have finally heard the long-awaited good news. The conflicts and problems encountered by residents who live in apartment blocks will be addressed through a review of the Condominium law. The government, together with the Association of Maltese Developers, the MDA, will analyse the consultation process so that the law is an effective tool for […]
Philippines: Homeowners’ association confederation organized
The Confederation of Homeowners Associations of Negros Occidental was formally launched yesterday in Talisay City, making it the first to be organized in Western Visayas, spurred by the Metro 3rd Balay Hilway Program of Third District Rep. Jose Francisco “Kiko” Benitez. Read the article………………………..
Columbia: Jamundí condominium residents denounce extortion
The inhabitants of a rural parcel located about 20 minutes from the urban area of Jamundí have been suffering several extortions since the end of last year, apparently by members of the Jaime Martínez column of the Farc dissidents. Read the article………………………..
Australia: Room with a feud: Apartment dwellers seek to ban neighbours from smoking on balconies
A couple who successfully sued their neighbours to stop them smoking on their apartment balcony say the NSW government should bring in a statewide ban. Brenton Pittman and Lynette Cartwright from Kingscliff in northern NSW won in the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal after complaining of persistent tobacco smoke drift from the apartment immediately below […]
Philippines: Homeowners’ associations and their importance
DR. Cielito F. Habito, Professor of Economics at Ateneo de Manila University, gives three reasons why the housing sector is important to the Philippine economy. First, housing is beneficial because it entails large numbers of construction workers. Read the article………………………..
Australia:Strata insurance premiums to continue rising in 2023
Strata insurance premiums have surged over the last couple of years and it doesn’t look like they will slow down this year, according to Mr Chris Glass, strata state manager of Queensland at the broking group Honan. Read the article………………………..
Australia: Passing on Unnecessary Costs Caused by Owners & Occupiers – How far can you go?
Managing unnecessary costs or charges to strata schemes caused by owners and occupiers can be a major source of frustration for owners corporations and their strata managing agents. Such costs and charges can span a wide range, Read the article………………………..
Philippines: Condo unit owners lose land dispute case
The Court of Appeals (CA) has turned down a petition filed by condominium unit owners against a company which bought the land where their units are located. The appellate court dismissed the petition of the owners of 10 units in two buildings of Xavierville Executive Townhouse in Quezon City against Barrington Consumer Distributions Corporation. Read […]
South Africa: Is it legal to charge fines for speeding transgressions in estates to a homeowner’s levies?
A two-part article: Part 1: Is it legal to charge fines for speeding transgressions in estates to a homeowner’s levies? Part 2: Clearing up some common misconceptions about estates issuing fines to homeowners following the Mount Edgecombe-case
Australia: Damages Claims Against Strata & Building Managers
Can a lot owner now make claims against building and strata managers for negligence? A recent decision of the Appeal Panel of NCAT has not ruled out the possibility that NCAT may be able to award damages to a lot owner for negligence by a strata manager and/or building manager of a strata scheme. Read […]
Jamaica: Understanding gated subdivisions and their rules
Gated subdivisions are neighbourhoods that have controlled access using one or more gates that residents or visitors must pass through. Some have a guard booth with a security staff to ensure that only residents or guests pass the gate, while others use an automatic gate that residents must open with a keycard or remote control. […]
Parliament passes Bill to regulate electric vehicle charging in Singapore
He described the Bill as “a milestone in Singapore’s quest for a sustainable land transport system”. It will give the Land Transport Authority powers to, among other things, regulate the entire cycle of EV chargers and impose a licensing regime on operators. The new law will also lower the threshold required to pass a resolution […]
Australia: Supreme Court Rejects Owner’s Claim for Damages
Recent heavy rainfall in Sydney has led to an increase in compensation claims by lot owners against owners corporations due to water leakage and consequential damage. Read the article (PDF)………………………..
Australia: Pet owners in a strata property can keep any pet they like
The Strata Tribunal has flipped the script on pets in Strata Schemes. It has decided that Strata Schemes cannot refuse permission for pets except for good reason. It has decided that Pet owners in a strata property have the right to keep any pet they like, so long as the animal does not unreasonably interfere […]
Philippines: Third District homeowners’ associations undergo training for confederation
Forty-six homeowners’ associations in the third district of Negros Occidental participated in series of orientation workshops for the formation of a Metro Third Housing Confederation, as facilitated by the congressional office of Rep. Jose Francisco Benitez. Read the article………………………..
Australia: Encroaching Walls – What can you do?
The recent decision in Hickey v The Owners Strata Plan 78825 [2022] NSWLEC 135 gave consideration to the characterisation of the Encroaching and Adjacent Owner under the Encroachment of Buildings Act 1922 (NSW). This case concerned a retaining wall that had been constructed by previous owners on the boundary between the Applicants and the Respondents. […]
India: DTCP receives structural audit report of 15 condos
The department of town and country planning (DTCP) on Wednesday said it has received structural audit reports of 15 of the 16 projects in which inspections were conducted by four private firms. The department said the reports have been received in a sealed cover, and will be tabled in a meeting of the district committee, […]
Italy: 1 dead, 13 poisoned after condo blaze at Mantua
One person was dead and 13 poisoned by smoke inhalation after a condominium fire at Mantua Sunday night, police said Monday. Read the article………………………..
Australia: Commissioner’s plan to purge lawyers from costly fights over dodgy buildings (NSW)
Owners’ corporations can now dob in defective buildings up to six years old and receive help from the government to resolve the dispute outside the courts under an initiative set up by the state’s inaugural Building Commissioner. Read the article………………………..
Australia: Consultation to inform education requirements for strata managers (NSW)
Strata management industry representatives and stakeholders are encouraged to have their say on proposed changes to educational requirements for those working in Western Australia’s strata management industry. Released today by Landgate, the consultation paper was developed in collaboration with the Strata Community Association (WA), REIWA and the Property Council. It outlines a new proposed model […]
Singapore: Bill proposes that all new buildings must install 1 EV charger for every 25 parking lots
All new buildings with car parks must install a minimum number of electric vehicle (EV) charging points, equivalent to around one for every 25 parking lots, under a proposal tabled in Parliament on Wednesday (Nov 9). Read the article………………………..
Singapore: High Court allows condo resident to carry out renovation works after management stopped them
A High Court judge on Friday (Nov 4) reversed a lower court’s decision to stop a Marine Parade condominium unit owner from carrying out extensive renovation works in his home. Read the article………………………..
Netherlands: Building foundations suffering more damage due to climate change
After another hot summer this year, reports of foundation damage to houses in the Netherlands are rising again, according to figures from the Knowledge Center for Foundation Problems (KCAF). Alarmed soil experts, housing associations, and homeowners asked Minister Hugo de Jonge of Housing to pay attention to the problem, EenVandaag reports. Read the article………………………..
Australia: Strata management target of cyber attack
An Australia-wide strata management firm has been targeted by a ransomware attack. The attack compromised the operating systems and phone lines of SSKB. Watch the news report……………………….
Japan: System to encourage rebuilding, repair must be established
How to proceed with the restoration of aging condominium buildings with units for sale has become a major issue. The government must take measures to facilitate reconstruction and other steps. Under the current Condominium Unit Ownership Law, the consent of four-fifths of the owners is required to rebuild a condominium building, and the consent of […]
Malaysia: ‘Waterfall’ Gushes From Burst Tank On Top Of M’sian Condominium, Damages Cars Parked Below
When one hears the word “waterfall”, one probably thinks of the Rain Vortex at Jewel Changi Airport or natural ones. While manmade waterfalls can be stunning, occasionally we get one that isn’t so much a tourist attraction as it is a disaster. Recently, Malaysia got its own unexpected waterfall when a water tank on top […]
Malaysia: Children Spotted Playing On 17th Floor Ledge Of KL Condominium, Police Investigating
Children, if left unsupervised, can find themselves in precarious positions and dangerous situations. That was the case for these two children in Malaysia who were playing on the window ledge of a 17th-floor apartment on a rainy day. Read the article………………………..
Bahamas: Legal action threat in Old Fort Bay row
The deepening divide at one of western New Providence’s most upscale gated communities is set to trigger legal action as early as today amid concerns over new construction and earlier alleged “rogue actions”. Old Fort Bay residents, speaking on condition of anonymity, yesterday told Tribune Business that an injunction will likely be sought to halt […]
China spurs condo, infrastructure building with state-backed lending
China has stepped up support for infrastructure projects and housing construction through loans from state-owned banks as a weak yuan limits monetary options for lifting the economy. Read the article………………………..
Bahamas: Old Fort Bay ‘torn’ by escalating fight
One of western New Providence’s most upscale communities is being “torn” apart through an escalating dispute triggered by demands that homeowners finance a 50 percent increase in security costs. Multiple homeowners in the subdivisions that comprise Old Fort Bay, in interviews with Tribune Business, said they and their neighbours have steadily become more “soured and […]
Philippines: CTA junks P50-M case vs. condo association
The Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) has set aside a tax assessment against a local corporation, the IBM Plaza Condominium Association Inc., for more than PHP50 million due to technical lapses. Read the article………………………..
Australia: Calls for Queensland to end 25-year locked-in property management contracts amid rising body corporate costs
Rising tensions between Queensland homeowners and property managers over locked-in management rights contracts lasting up to 25 years will be raised at the state government’s housing summit today amid concerns of rising body corporate fees. Read the article………………………..
South Africa: Asbestos: New compliance requirements for body corporates and homeowners’ associations
The duties of body corporate trustees and HOA directors reached the next level of complexity when “asbestos management” was effectively added to their compliance checklist. Read the article………………………..
Netherlands: Homeowners’ associations ‘are stalling energy efficiency moves’
A homeowners’ lobby group is calling for a change in the law to allow them to carry out energy efficiency improvements without the green light from two-thirds of the owners in a building complex. Read the article………………………..
Malaysia: Resident describes lift plunge at Brickfields condo as a nightmare
The residents of a condominium in Lengkok Thamby Abdullah, Brickfields, here, described yesterday’s incident, which saw a lift plunge to the ground floor from the eighth floor, as a nightmare. Read the article………………………..
Malaysia: No man is an island in strata living, says legal expert
Staying in a strata development – from a legal perspective – is basically regulated community living. That was how Chur Associates managing partner and founder Chris Tan described it. Read the article………………………..
Australia: New rules for Strata Agents & Residential Property Agents (NSW)
Updated rules for strata managing agents and real estate agents including assistant agents commenced on 1 September 2022. The laws incorporated feedback from the public consultation in June and July this year on the Property and Stock Agents Regulation 2022. Read the article………………………..
Malaysia: Please wear your masks, condo managements say
Similarly, another condo management in Bandar Baru Sri Petaling, says, “When our personnel comes across anyone without masks in enclosed common areas, he or she would advise them to wear masks, but that is all we can do. We can’t do more if they refuse, because it is not an enforceable rule.” Read the article………………………..
South Africa: City completely misses point says Kuilsriver residents in gated-community row
THE City of Cape Town has presented Kuilsriver residents with a proposal to end the protracted dispute over the erection of a security gate. Read the article………………………..
Malaysia: 10 Things to Know About the Strata Management Tribunal
The Strata Management Tribunal is established and regulated by the (i) Strata Management Act 2015 (Act 757) and the (ii) Strata Management (Strata Management Tribunal) Regulations 2015 respectively, which came into force on 1 June 2015. Read the article………………………..
Malaysia: Premier: Sarawak govt agrees to set up tribunal to deal with disputes between developers, strata property buyers
Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg today said the state government has agreed to set up a strata tribunal as a venue to hear disputes between the developers and strata property buyers. He said the setting of the strata tribunal will make the housing industry, as far as strata title is concerned, more smoothly. […]
Australia: ‘I lost everything’: She was forced to move out of her home. But she’s still being drained of thousands each month
Treacy Sheehan was getting ready for a night out when police knocked on her door. The Sydney apartment building she had called home for four years was in danger of collapsing – and Sheehan, her young son, and her fellow residents of the 131-unit apartment block would have to leave immediately. Read the article………………………..
Spain: Community of owners absolved after being sued by a neighbour
The employees hired by the homeowner’s association started the works normally, but before they could finish them, the neighbour expelled them from the terrace; causing the works to remain uncompleted. Afterwards, this neighbour, on his own account, hired other workers to complete the rehabilitation. More than a year later, he sued the community of owners […]
Australia: Retirees face exorbitant fees for retirement village
A group of New South Wales retirees claim RSL LifeCare is seeking exorbitant fees from them for upkeep of their retirement village in Sydney’s north-west and they want to know where their strata money has been going. Read the article………………………..
Australia: NSW Supreme Court Rules By-law Void for Uncertainty
A recent NSW Supreme Court ruling invalidated a by-law that required several owners corporations in a prominent strata complex in Sydney to all use the same strata manager. Read the article………………………..
Australia: Why Strata Managers should STOP doing night meetings routinely?
The strata industry can be an amazing area to work and be a part of, however being a strata manager is a lot of work and the role can be somewhat like a stage play. A lot of work happens behind the scenes to ensure everything runs smoothly. One of the down sides and difficult […]