Strata
Opinion
Climate policy
In our block of flats, the majority was hung out to dry
A fraction shy of 75 per cent of the vote supported our right to put a clothes-drying rack on our balconies. That wasn’t enough. Strata law needs to change.
- by Vaidehi Shah
Latest
Apartment dwellers push for the right to air their clean laundry
Millions of Australians live in apartments, but many new developments ban washing from being hung outdoors.
- by Caitlin Fitzsimmons
Exclusive
Renewables
A place in the sun: How to get solar to 2.5m apartment dwellers
Australia has the highest uptake of rooftop solar in the world, but the growing number of apartment dwellers has been left behind. This is how to turn the tables.
- by Caitlin Fitzsimmons and Bianca Hall
Strata residents warned of inflated invoices for trades work
The Australian Consumers Insurance Lobby has warned maintenance quotes are being inflated by up to 120 per cent for people in strata units amid limited oversight by committees.
- by Amber Schultz
Strata law reform on the cards as NSW Fair Trading swamped with complaints
Reforms of the state’s strata laws are set to address poor behaviour by managing agents as sector advocates call for the commissioner to have greater powers.
- by Amber Schultz
Opinion
Housing crisis
I spent more time choosing groceries than buying my first home
I’ve spent longer debating which frozen dumplings to buy at the supermarket than committing to a mortgage that ends two years before I’m eligible for the pension.
- by Amber Schultz
Opinion
Comedy
It’s been a bad week to be a baby
You think being booted from a comedy show is unfair? Strata is stopping my kid from crawling on communal grass.
- by Thomas Mitchell
Exclusive
Debt collection
‘Unjust and unfair’: How Karen nearly lost everything to strata debt
One in eight forced bankruptcy filings in NSW last year were applications by owners’ corporations to make individual owners bankrupt.
- by Caitlin Fitzsimmons
Jan’s building has concrete cancer and harbour views. Developers are trying to persuade her to sell
Residents in crumbling apartment blocks on the north shore are being targeted with warnings of disaster unless they sell - so the buildings can be redeveloped.
- by Sue Williams
Opinion
Housing crisis
Two missing words explain why Sydney’s making a terrible housing mistake
Changes in our landscape and society are happening with little understanding of the legal structures being created and the resulting burdens for homeowners.
- by Cathy Sherry
Opinion
Housing crisis
I was in a bidding war for a unit with concrete cancer. I’m still mad I lost
I just got outbid on the seventh apartment I’ve tried to buy in Sydney, and with every property I miss out on, my standards drop.
- by Amber Schultz