In another strata galaxy not so far far away, a strata insurance crisis engulfed NSW strata title that had very significant impacts at the time on how strata managers operated their businesses in relation to strata title insurance, commissions and disclosure.  So, it’s timely to revisit the early nineties in Australian strata titles and what happened, what the Courts decided and what resulted from it all.  It’s a very interesting, little known and important story that might give you déjà vu or contain a few lessons for all kinds of strata stakeholders.

Whilst watching all those superhumans performing at elite levels in Paris, I wondered what kind of Olympian a strata manager would make.  So, here’s some thoughts about the how the skills a strata manager exercises compare to differing Olympic events, why and how that could make them medal winners in the property games.

Flat Chat writer and editor Jimmy Thomson recalls what he has learned from 20 years of running an online forum for strata residents

It seems that NSW Fair Trading thinks that strata management businesses in that state need more supervision, so they’re updating [and upgrading] their Supervision Guidelines next month. And those new guidelines include some surprisingly detailed, extensive and strict requirements for the owners and licensees in charge. So, here’s an overview and some of the more interesting requirements that all strata citizens should now about.

It’s very common for some strata owners to believe their lot entitlements or lot liabilities are incorrect and want them changed. Like a kind of renovation. But the processes are complex, lengthy, expensive and legally intricate as this overview of the Victorian rules and cases demonstrates …

Macquarie Bank is a big fish in the strata title pond, providing a range of services to strata buildings and strata managers and it is heavily involved with strata industry groups. Plus, it’s a very successful business in its own right. So, when it collects, analyses, and comments on data about strata management business operations and profitability, it’s basically a profitability lesson for anyone who’s listening. In this GoStrata Article, I look at the key learnings for strata businesses [not just managers] from the Macquarie Bank 2023 Strata Benchmarking Report.

Jargon is a word that describes special words or expressions used by a profession or group that are difficult for others to understand. And, strata title insurance is full of jargon. Worse still, strata title insurance language includes special legally defined words that are actually confusing to most strata stakeholders. So, here’s a strata title insurance language lesson for beginners.

In the strata title insurance multiverse game, there’s 8 key payers vying for the gold coins, power ups, easter eggs and more and they mostly dominate the game. So, if you want to play and, hopefully win, you need to know who they are, why they are there, and their key characteristics. Are you ready strata insurance game players one, two, three, etc …

That strata managers are valuable to strata managers cannot be doubted. So, why is everyone still struggling with the topic and repeating the lament that they are under appreciated, underpaid and unloved after more than 45 years. So, is it time to discuss, debate and explore the strata manager value dilemma?

Strata title building insurance commissions have existed for many many decades. So, they’re not new, the issues that have resurfaced now have always been there, and they’ve been considered, debated, studied, and adjudicated repeatedly with almost nothing changing. So, whilst the dramatic reactions to the latest headlines are fine, it’s a bit like watching strata ostriches pulling their heads out of the sand. So, whilst that happens, here’s a lot of material from all kinds of strata stakeholders about insurance commission and other issues in the strata sector so strata citizens know more about what everyone thinks, does and says.

It’s very common for some strata owners to believe their unit or lot entitlements are incorrect and want them changed. Like a kind of strata tune up. But the processes can be complex, lengthy, expensive, and legally intricate as this overview of the NSW strata rules and cases demonstrates.

I love motor racing and I love strata. Since it’s time for the Australian Formula 1 Gran Prix in Melbourne, let’s look at those two fast paced worlds to see how they compare for the similarities, differences and lessons. So, ladies and gentlemen, start your strata engines.

Is it time to think differently about micro strata buildings? There’s a lot of them, they often don’t actually follow applicable strata laws and many regulators and other strata stakeholders want to let them off the hook. So, here are some of my thoughts and ideas for the small fish in strata lake. To make them tastier.

Half of all Australian strata apartments are investment properties that are tenanted. Strata renters must follow all the strata laws, by laws and rules. But strata renters have almost no strata rights, have no say in how strata buildings operate, and they’re treated as second rate strata citizens. But they’re not. So, why is that and how did it happen? Plus, where do Australian strata renters have the most rights?

Does life imitate art or vice versa? It’s a been a perennial debate that has no right answer. But, there’s no doubt that when artists imagine and depict something that doesn’t yet exist, we often see something very much like it appear. Think of Dick Tracey in the 1960s and the Apple Watch in 2015. So, is that kind of scenario possible or likely for future strata buildings too and, if so, how has Hollywood imagined their future?

In today’s guest-writer article by Brent Clark, he discusses the transition by Australian strata apartment buildings into a sustainable energy future and where to next. It’s a very well reasoned, technically supported explanation about energy issues and opportunities for strata buildings. Plus, it’s a fascinating story of how one person’s interest found a home in our sector to develop these initiatives.

The Australian trend in favour of strata pets over the last few years makes its way north into the latest changes to Queensland strata laws. Since December 2023 those laws include provisions favouring pet owners and preventing a range of restrictions on approving, keeping and removing pets from strata buildings. So, it looks to me that Queensland dogs and cats are now partying hard everywhere.

Strata buildings can self-manage or appoint a strata manager of their choice. But sometimes a strata manager is appointed to run strata buildings by Court or Tribunal order who can be welcome or not, the strata owners’ preferred choice or not, and good, bad, or indifferent. So, how, why, and in what situations does a strata manager get delivered to you in NSW? More easily and less predictably than you might think.

In 2020 a major strata NSW strata case has and continues to have major impacts on all strata stakeholders. It changed the way everyone sees strata owner’s rights and how strata buildings control things, it changed the way strata by laws [and strata pets] are treated, and it caused me to strata writing and talking about strata title issues again. It was a bit like a change of strata rulers. So, how did that happen, and why?

Today’s the day I reveal my unrequited strata love. But I know I’m not alone in this heartache. So, here’s a few Valentine’s day wishes for strata apartment owners, dwellers, managers, regulators and lovers.