A recent story about an elderly couple hit with a cruel, special levy, with costs trebled by fighting an unwinnable case in court, has highlighted the importance of good, reliable advice for apartment owners.  Read the article………………………..

An elderly Sydney couple could soon be homeless after being put on a near-impossible payment plan for a special strata levy to upgrade their windows.  Pensioners Nitsa and Spiros have called their unit home for 50 years, but now they’re staring down the barrel of bankruptcy.   Read the article…………………………..

Apartment owners claim they’re under siege from telcos determined to install broadband services in their buildings – whether residents want them or not.  And they say they’re being forced to hire lawyers to try to stop them and protect their common property from potential damage caused by subcontractors when companies bully their way in.    Read […]

Aland Developments and Mascot Towers have agreed to an out-of-court settlement after it was alleged the developer caused major damage to their homes while working on their Peak Towers project.  Read the article…………………………

As if the former residents of Mascot Towers in Sydney weren’t doing it tough enough, last month they received another blow, and it’s one that smacks of local government incompetence, with maybe even a lingering whiff of past potential corruption   Read the entire article……………………………….

A landmark out-of-court settlement has been reached in the multi-million-dollar class action over Sydney’s defect-riddled Opal Tower, one of Australia’s most significant property lawsuits.  Read the entire article……………………………….

Commencing 30 June 2022, the NSW Government will launch phase 2 of the ‘Strata Hub’, revolutionising strata management which means new reporting requirements for all strata schemes.  The ‘Strata Hub’ phase 1 initially went live on 31 July 2021 launching the Strata Building Bond and Inspections Scheme (IBBIS) functions to be dealt with through the […]

Mr Carr was among 40 owners who visited NSW Parliament on Wednesday to deliver 62 letters to Premier Dominic Perrottet and Fair Trading Minister Eleni Petinos, urging them to extend rental subsidies for unit owners.   Read the entire article……………………………….

A recent decision of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) has broken new ground in making orders for the termination of a Building Manager Agreement.   Read the entire article……………………………….

A former Queensland government body corporate commissioner says a recent ban on a unit owner smoking on her balcony could set a precedent for anything that could be deemed a health hazard including pet urine and barbecues to smoking or vaping at office buildings.   Read the entire article……………………………….

When Dominic Perrottet announced his new cabinet last week, it wasn’t the changes at the top that drew most attention from apartment owners and strata professionals. It was one near the bottom.  Fair Trading – the cumbersome multi-faceted ministry where strata issues reside – has long been known as a “training wheels” appointment.    Read the […]

Unexplained delays by the NSW government’s property tribunal have forced a mother, her five-year-old daughter and her elderly parents to move back into their damp, mouldy apartment.   Read the entire article……………………………….

It’s the stuff of Sydney strata nightmares: a cracking building, an expensive repair bill and an owners’ meeting that got so heated the police turned up.  The drama started in the basement of the Vicinity apartment towers in Canterbury earlier this month, when owners couldn’t agree over who should be put in charge of managing […]

After nearly 20 months of closed international and state borders, it is understandable that the tourism industry is eagerly awaiting the return of the “tourist”, whether that be international travellers, domestic travellers or weary Sydneysiders looking to escape to rural NSW.   Read the entire article……………………………….

Following a severe storm in January, the river changed direction, sending water gushing along the beach towards the club and rapidly eroding the coastline where the building is perched.  Mr McIntosh said he raised concerns with authorities in February, but for months, the only thing that was done was shuffling sand around the beach in […]

Of the strata buildings recently constructed across NSW, 39 per cent have serious defects, according to a new report, and the issues are taking an increasingly long time to be repaired.   Research conducted by the Strata Community Association NSW (SCA NSW) has totalled the cost of these building defects, finding that the average price for […]

Section 137B of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 commenced on 24 August 2021 and provides that a by-law cannot unreasonably prohibit the keeping of an animal on a lot. The following Tribunal decision illustrates that a scheme can still place certain conditions on the keeping of pets.    Read the entire article……………………………….

Strata insurance costs have been heading skyward for at least the last four years, according to a new report issued by the Strata Community Association (SCA) conducted by Deakin University.   Read the entire article……………………………….

A group of apartment owners in Sydney’s north has had to find millions of dollars to rectify defects in their complex which emerged since it was completed 10 years ago.  The developer behind the project — 82-84 Belmore Street Pty Ltd — was liquidated two years after the apartments were built.      Read the entire article……………………………….

Buyers of apartments in two 22-storey Parramatta towers with serious defects fear changes to orders imposed on a developer by the NSW building watchdog will strip away their right to rescind contracts and get their deposits back.   Read the entire article……………………………….

Without exploiting the tragedy at Champlain Towers South in Surfside Florida, there are some very useful lessons for Australian strata stakeholders for dealing with the aftermath of a structurally impaired building that may have some relevance right now. Read the entire article……………………………….

The NSW construction watchdog has major concerns that body corporates are underreporting serious defects in high-rise apartment buildings to government officials charged with cleaning up the construction industry and restoring public confidence.   Read the entire article……………………………….

The NSW construction watchdog has major concerns that body corporates are underreporting serious defects in high-rise apartment buildings to government officials charged with cleaning up the construction industry and restoring public confidence.  Read the entire article……………………………….

Almost two years after Mascot Towers in Sydney’s south was evacuated, the beleaguered building could sell for up to $42.5 million depending on how quickly owners can agree to the sale terms.   Read the entire article……………………………….

Laws affecting more than one million people living in strata schemes across NSW are getting a fresh government review.  It is evaluating laws just six years old in the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 that affect owners and tenants. Since the laws were enacted serious flaws, challenges and opportunities have arisen in the NSW strata […]

Owners’ corporations are forcing residents to carry their pets across foyers, demanding their vets’ contact details and charging new owners application fees for animals in response to recent legal changes regarding pets in apartments.    Read the article………………………………..

Peninsula residents are being asked to have their say on how laws can be changed to better support people living or working in strata schemes.  Strata schemes, or the process of owning a portion of a building with some shared common areas, currently maintain that the Owners Corporation is responsible for the upkeep of all […]

Australia: The Owners Corporation and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2020 has passed through the Upper House of Victorian Parliament, ensuring the protection of short stay operations in the state.   Read the article…………………………………..

More than 2.2 million people live in flats and apartments Australia-wide, with the vast majority being strata titled.   Western Australia has over 325,000 strata properties across more than 73,000 strata schemes, with 86 per cent of these in the metropolitan region.    Read the article……………………………………..

If you will excuse the pun, strata law in relation to pets is a dog’s breakfast. An appeal is pending on whether by-laws that impose blanket pet bans are “harsh, unconscionable or oppressive”. Individual NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal members have held they are, while the tribunal’s appeal panel thinks not. Since 2015, strata legislation […]

The NSW Building Commissioner has revealed an apartment tower in western Sydney, which he says is probably the worst he’s inspected, compelled him to convince the state government to give him the powers to clean up the industry.     Read the article…………………………….

This week has been very exciting for Strata. As of May 1st, the Strata Titles Amendment Act 2018 is now in effect! Some of these changes may affect you, and your Strata Manager will advise you of those changes as they arise in the running of your Strata Company.   Read the article…………………………

Ongoing problems with the troubled Mascot Towers apartment building could see the repair bill blow out to more than $50 million, leaked emails reveal.   Read the article………………………….

The Australian College of Strata Lawyers is calling for government intervention in all states to make clear to owners and strata managers that, during this unprecedented period, their communities will not be penalised should they choose to delay the convening of a meeting or fail to hold a meeting strictly in accordance with the legal […]

The Western Australian Strata Title Amendments Act of 2018 is the most significant change to the state’s strata laws in over 20 years. There are more than 300,000 strata-titled properties in existence in WA, with most in the Perth metropolitan area.   Read the article………………………….

The recent Tribunal decision in SP92888 v Taylor Construction Group and Frasers Putney [2019] NSWCAT has held that combustible external cladding installed on residential buildings is a major defect for the purposes of statutory warranties under the Home Building Act 1989 (the HBA) and will have significant ramifications on owners of residential buildings wishing to […]