This week, having survived a computer crisis on the home office front, we delve deeper into the differences between the way renters are treated in Victoria and NSW.In the same week that Victoria’s new rental laws come in, curbing “no reason” evictions of tenants, NSW Fair Trading confirms that they will be reinstated as soon as the post-Covid period is over in September.So why should property owners not have the right to end their tenancy leases when they want to? Why should they need to prove that their reasons are valid, such as showing that they have permission to undertake renovations, or that they have signed a contract to sell the property?Jimmy puts up a strong argument that many landlords in Australia owe a debt to the community as a whole and that involves treating tenants fairly and decently.You can find the details of the NSW transitional measures for renters and landlords HERE and the Victorian regulations HERE.Listen HereThen we move on to the “brave” developer who, according to a story in a recent Sunday Telegraph, complained about building commissioner David Chandler closing down one of his apartment block building sites because of defects that were being built into the structure – faults that the eventual purchasers would probably end up paying to fix.According to a story in the Sunday Telegraph last week, Omar Abdul-Rahman, director of OandE Developments, had a litany of building defect complaints raised against him, or companies of which he was a director, dating back to 2017.He complained that he had never been on a building site where Australian Building Standards were resolutely adhered to.Maybe so, but if he wasn’t on David Chandler’s radar before, he certainly will be nowFinally, we move on to an idea being floated – not for the first time – that voting at strata AGMs should be compulsory, as it is at every other level of the democratic process.Jimmy argues that if strata really is the fourth level of government, then it should have the same compulsion to vote as in national, state and council elections.Sue argues that it’s up to strata schemes to engage their owners more effectively and if they can’t do that, then why should owners turn out for dreary nights at AGMs when either nothing happens or nasty personal disputes are played out in public.That’s all (and more) in this week’s podcast.Transcript In FullJimmy 00:00Computers, eh?!Sue 00:01Yes!Jimmy 00:02They're great when they work, and they're bloody useless when they don't.Sue 00:07Well, I had a problem with my computer and you tried to fix it (which I was very grateful for), but apparently you 'bricked' the computer.Jimmy 00:16You've never heard that phrase before?Sue 00:17No, I havent.Jimmy 00:18Which means literally, you have turned the computer into something that is as useful as a brick.Sue 00:25Yes. Well, thank you very much for that, Jimmy!Jimmy 00:28I went and helped you get a new set up and almost stuffed that up, because I used the wrong dongle.Sue 00:37A complete nightmare. I hate computers!Jimmy 00:40I think they're great. Okay, today we're going to be talking about different attitudes to renters, between New South Wales and Victoria. We're going to be talking ab
____________________________________________________
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.
