There’s an air of cynicism – or maybe it’s just weary experience – around this week’s Flat Chat Wrap podcast, but we only have ourselves to blame.Last week we were touting the potential for a mandatory strata management contract – like the residential tenancies lease in that the legal conditions would be fixed, but the financial terms would be variable – and realised we were joining a chorus of support for the idea, notably promoted by the Owners Corporation Network.What we and they didn’t realise is that Fair Trading has already nixed the idea in its review of strata laws that will occur this year.Citing the views of the ACSL (which turns out to be the Australian College of Strata Lawyers, something we didn’t know when we recorded the podcast), the Law Society, the Urban Development Institute of Australia (developers) and PICA, the strata and building management giant, the policy wonks have decided that they won’t have a mandatory contract but they will come up with conditions that must not be in contracts and clauses that must.We’re calling BS on the proposal, not least because there is already a mandatory contract – the one issued by strata managers on a take it or leave it basis.After years of saying we should have a strata commissioner, it seems we already have one. The published remit of the Property Services Commissioner includes strata, it seems. Does that John Minns is the Strata Commissioner? We’re going to track him down and find out.We also explore the idea of subsidised private rentals for frontline workers like nurses, ambos, teachers and police. And we chat about some bizarre tribunal cases from Queensland, including a block that wanted residents to carry pets in cages up 16 floors in the fire stairs and another that tried to ban doormats.And final our friends at Strata Answers are looking into the successes and challenges of strata owners who want electric vehicle charging in their blocks – how they succeeded if they did get it in, and why they failed if they didn’t.All that and more in this week’s Flat Chat Wrap.TRANSCRIPT IN FULLJimmy 00:00I've got a feeling we're going to be disappointing some of our listeners this week. SueOh no, why?!Jimmy 00:04Because we've been talking about the strata management contracts and how a lot of us think there should be a standard strata management contract.Sue 00:14Oh, yes.Jimmy 00:15The same way as there is a prescriptive one for rentals. Everybody has to use that contract and even if they don't use that contract, the law says well, that contract applies. Even if you've got a verbal contract and nothing on paper, that contract still applies.Sue 00:32Yes, we were hoping the New South Wales government was going to bring that out. For strata residents?Jimmy 00:35Yes, so we have some updated news on that. And, we're going to talk about pets in Queensland and doormats in Queensland. We're going to talk about the new Property Services Commissioner, John Minze and, we're going to talk about some research into electric vehicles. For strata residents. So, a lot to talk about; we'd better get on with it. I'm Jimmy Thomson, I write the Flat Chat column for the Australian Financial Review.Sue 01:04And I'm Sue Wi
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Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai.
Find out more about Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson on their websites.
