If you've been hiding under your bed - and who isn't tempted these days? - you may not have heard that NSW is about to see a second tranche of strata law reforms become a reality on July 1.

What are the new laws and what do they mean? We invited Robert Anderson, President of SCA-NSW, the state's professional body for strata managers and service providers, on to the podcast to explain some of them.

We discussed the fact that strata contracts will come under Federal consumer protection laws for the first time, and what that means - especially in relation to SCA's much maligned standard contract.

Did you know Fair Trading is planning to issue a standard strata management contract, like the one for rentals? Me neither.

We also touched on estimates for legal services, new processes for minor renovations, embedded networks, common property repair delays, the doubling of fees for seeing strata records, and the behaviour of committee members at meetings.

And Sue thinks she's found a wrinkle that will make it harder for buildings to ban drying laundry on balconies.

That's all in this week's (legal) action-packed Flat Chat Wrap.

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Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia.
Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website.
Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au.
Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website.
Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai.
Find out more about Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson on their websites.

Imagine if you could build apartments in half the time at 15 per cent less cost and a guarantee of no waterproofing, fire safety or structural defects.

‘Tell ’im he must be dreamin’,” say strata’s Darryl Kerrigans. Apartment blocks take longer to build than ever, cost more, and fire and waterproofing are still endemic defects across the industry.

Enter Wayne Larson of PT Blink who is already constructing hundreds of new blocks with the promise that the process will be faster, less costly and with a much, much higher level of quality control.

How do they do it? It’s been described as a cross between Lego and Ikea flat pack furniture.

Quite simply, at the same time as the steel frame is being constructed on-site, the floors, walls, bathrooms, windows and balconies are being manufactured in factories hundreds of kilometres away.

Okay, but doesn’t that mean identical looking chicken coops springing up all around the country?

Far from it, says Wayne. They take architect drawings, pull them apart and create the individual components, which then all come together, ready to occupy the spaces created on the steel frame.

Have a look at this video and it will make even more sense. But first, listen to this week's Flat Chat Wrap. Enjoy.

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Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia.
Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website.
Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au.
Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website.
Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai.
Find out more about Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson on their websites.

As many of you may already know, every second Tuesday, JimmyT goes on ABC Radio with James Valentine on his Afternoon show to chat about apartments.

Last week, Jimmy and James took calls from listeners about what you can and can't put on balconies, compulsory training for strata committees, tradies who block car spaces, and car lifts that break down.

They also heard from one gentleman who hates strata and everything to do with it. As usual, it's a lively segment, so we thought you might like a taste of what you get on the radio.

Jimmy is on with James on Tuesday afternoon, June the 3rd at 2pm. Why not send them a text on 0467 922 702 or call on 1300 222 702 and ask a curly question of your own.

And you can hear more of James (without Jimmy) on ABC Afternoons.

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Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia.
Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website.
Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au.
Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website.
Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai.
Find out more about Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson on their websites.

In this second part of Lawyer in the Hot Seat, recorded last week, strata legal eagle David Bannerman fields questions from Flat Chat's Jimmy Thomson about a range of issues, starting with what is vexatious litigant and how do you deal with them?

Then there's the matter of disputes between neighbours and whether or not the strata committee should get involved - and what they can and should do if they go down that road.

We look at embedded networks, how they are used to rip off apartment buyers, who should be warning strata newbies about them, and the very simple way purchasers can make sure it doesn't happen to them.

And finally there are webinar viewers attendees' questions. That's all (only without the pictures) in this week's Flat Chat Wrap.

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Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia.
Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website.
Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au.
Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website.
Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai.
Find out more about Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson on their websites.

In what has become an annual event here on Flat Chat, this week we were invited on to a webinar run by leading strata lawyer (and Flat Chat sponsor) David Bannerman for the Q&A session that we call Lawyer in the Hot Seat.

In it we discuss such diverse issues as Lithium battery safety, a Vegepod balcony plant system that's been banned becasue it's not in keeping with the look of the building, the surprisingly widespread problem of mould and explore the vexed question of underperforming committee members.

This is a long session so we have split it and will run the other half next week. There's a lot in it because, as is the nature of strata, one answer leads to a Jenga stack of other questions.

You can check out the Bannerman's website for a stack of strata-related information

____________________________________________________


Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia.
Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website.
Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au.
Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website.
Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai.
Find out more about Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson on their websites.

The week’s podcast covers a wide array of topics, from your thoughts on strata committee training, and the ups and downs of the property market to common myths about strata managers. And we’ll throw in a reference to photography as well.

We have a look at Amanda Farmer’s survey into strata owners’ thought on training for strata committee members. We won’t do too many spoilers but it’s worth hearing what you, the owners and tenants really want.

Then we look at how volatile the building industry has become, with record number of small builders going out of business while the government’s housing targets seem to be as out of reach as ever.

Then we have a chat about some of the main myths about strata managers, as highlighted by Bobby Lehane, CEO of the Pica Group.

And we give a nod to a photograph that accompanied one of Sue’s stories about boarding house residents being evicted to make way for luxury houses in Sydney’s Paddington.

All in this week’s Flat Chat Wrap.

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Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia.
Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website.
Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au.
Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website.
Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai.
Find out more about Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson on their websites.

The Wrap is back with a look at sustainable apartments and the reality of spending a bit more to make a unit cheaper to live in.

The latest message is that even if the average ‘green’ unit costs $11k more, it will save you heaps of money… and salve your conscience too.

We also uncover two worrying trends in one of our states where developers are loading up strata committees with their employees – ignoring any allegations of obvious conflicts of interest.

Meanwhile, apartment owners seem blissfully unaware that there may be any potential problems. “They say they’re going to take care of defects and it’s in their best interests to do so, isn’t it?”

Well, is it? Or are there some developers who are more concerned with profits than their reputations – since they can change their names any time they like?

And finally we look at the conundrum of increased immigration putting pressure on the housing stock versus the need for skilled migrants to build more apartment blocks.

Is temporary accommodation in migrant camps the answer? Make them attractive places to stay – they don’t have to be like prisons. And would it be any worse than migrants having to share a two-bed flat with a dozen other renters?

That’s all in this week’s Flat Chat Wrap.

____________________________________________________


Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia.
Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website.
Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au.
Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website.
Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai.
Find out more about Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson on their websites.

Did you know that getting on for 4.5 million Australians live in strata? And who do you think comprises the single largest demographic group, from singles and couples through to one-parent families?

Can you even take a wild guess at the total value of strata properties in Oz, or what percentage of strata schemes don’t have strata managers?

This week we take a deep dive into the latest Australasian (it includes NZ) Strata Insights report from UNSW and SCA.

By the way, we got ourselves into a bit of a fankle over the Nepali language, which we mispronounced “nepawlee” rathere than “nepa-ly”, and which we partially correctly said was Nepalese – as in, the official language of Nepal.

In fact, Nepali is spoken by more than up to 20 million people, mostly in Nepal and neighbouring parts of India. Smaller speech communities exist in Bhutan, Brunei, and Myanmar. And in Melbourne too, it seems.

We also take a quick check on what the various political parties are offering by way of tackling the housing crisis and we talk briefly about why it’s such a surprise to see one of our apartment developer giants exposed in the news.

That’s all in this week’s Flat Chat Wrap.

____________________________________________________


Flat Chat is all about apartment living, especially in Australia.
Find us on Facebook and Twitter and the Flat Chat website.
Send comments and questions to mail@flatchat.com.au.
Register to ask and answer questions about apartment living anonymously on the website.
Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai.
Find out more about Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson on their websites.