Strata Garbage leads to Jail Time

I sometimes wonder how to balance by-law or rule enforcement in strata schemes with common-sense as it’s very very hard to do.

On the one hand, it’s important to enforce by-law and rules so that the things that matter to owners lifestyles and the necessary compromises of strata living are supported by everyone rather than ignored.

But on the other hand it is difficult because it needs on the spot and constant attention, it requires owners, resident and executive support and the rules cannot always be applied strictly against every person in every situation.

Getting it right is, therefore, always a challenge and we can get it more right or wrong every time.

But, what I do know is that Ronald Castellano in Florida went too far when after a dispute about his neighbour putting his garbage bin out too early he threatened to grab his gun and show them "who's boss".

See the short article about the incident at wpbf.com.

Francesco ….

What a difference a decade makes ?

As we live our lives on a daily basis things seem to happen slowly … but if we pull back a bit we can see the pace of change better and better.

Months seem to slip by, each year finishes sooner and so much has occurred.

But think about how much has changed in the last decade.  It started with after the party at the end of 1999 and fears of the millennium bug (remember that) and ended with a lingering global financial crises and android phones that can access data almost anywhere in the world for a few cents per minute.

It’s just amazing how much things have changed.

This fascinating chart produced by io9.com summarises a few changes that I found interesting (even though it’s a little US centric).

So, see you after I listen to my Prince CD (he was still called that at the beginning of the last decade).

Francesco ….

NSW Tenants get Fresh Laws next Month

New tenancy laws (under The Residential Tenancies Act 2010 and associated Regulations) will commence in NSW on 31 January 2011.

NSW Fair Trading received over 100 submissions from the public and key stakeholders in response to the invitation to comment on the draft Residential Tenancies Regulation. All of these submissions were carefully considered and a number of changes were made to the draft as a result of this consultation. The final Residential Tenancies Regulation 2010 has been approved and published. To view the Regulation go to the Tenancy reforms page on the Fair Trading website.

A video presentation providing an overview of the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 is now available on the Fair Trading website. The Changes to tenancy laws video covers the key reforms that will impact on tenants, landlords and agents at the start of a tenancy, during a tenancy and when a tenancy comes to an end. To watch the video, go to the Tenancy reforms page on the Fair Trading website.

Also available on the Fair Trading website is a series of translated audio recordings of the tenancy video script. In ten languages, Arabic, Burmese, Dari, Dinka, Kirundi, Korean, Mandarin, Somali, Swahili, and Tetum, these resources help migrants, especially refugees and emerging language groups in NSW understand their rights and responsibilities as tenants under the new tenancy laws. The audio recordings can also be accessed from the Tenancy reforms page.

More information about the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 will be available on the Fair Trading website once the new laws commence in late January 2011.

Over 4,000 people attended Tenancy Reform seminars which were held throughout NSW between 13 September and 23 November. The video presentation now available on the Fair Trading website provides a similar level of information to that delivered through the seminars.

Francesco …

2010 in Strata … Summarised in my Blogs

I thought it would be interesting to see what topics I covered in my blog in 2010 about high density real estate (and how often).

And, here are t he results.

There were 200 posts in 2010 and the topics covered were in order of frequency - 

Social Issues – 57 times

New South Wales - 44 times

Urban Planning - 44 times

Development – 32 times

Legal – 31 times

Management – 31 times

Art & Culture – 27 times

Buildings – 28 times

Groups – 26 times

Sydney – 25 times

Events – 24 times

Legal – 20 times

Grafitti – 19 times

Architecture – 15 times

Cities – 13 times

Blogs – 12 times

USA – 11 times

Environment – 10 times

Fundamentals – 10 times

Research – 10 times

Video – 10 times

New York – 9 times

Conveyancing – 8 times

Technology – 8 times

Finance – 6 times

Investment – 6 times

Real Estate – 6 times

Canada – 5 times

Vicotria – 4 times

Melbourne – 4 times

Queensland – 4 times

Books – 4 times

Social – 3 times

Economy – twice

Government – twice

Insurance – twice

Pets – twice

San Francisco - twice

Termination – twice

Big Things – once

Brisbane – once

Chicago - once

Chile – once

China – once

France – once

Germany – once

Italy – once

Japan – once

London – once

Music – once

Madrid – once

Somalia – once

South Africa – once

South Australia – once

Transport – once

Twitter – once

United Kingdom – once

I wonder what this list will look like in 2011 ???

Francesco …

Greening Strata

Many people would like to claim the green high ground in strata but they can’t.

You see ... strata buildings are not very friendly to the environment (and neither are their owners or managers).  And that’s out of step with the rest of the world of building owners and managers – so it’s time we started doing something about it.

• Unfortunately, strata buildings have the following environmental problems -
• Strata buildings use more electricity than the same number of single residential dwellings per occupant and the same floor space commercial buildings
• Strata building residents use more water than non strata people
• Recycling in strata buildings is about one quarter the level of normal homes and commercial premises
• The use of solar, thermal and other centralized heating and cooling systems is lower
• Waste production is higher than the same number of single residential dwellings

Here’s a recent article about the problem called Strata is popular but neglected in green initiatives from the Fifth Estate.

There are many reasons for the poor performance of strata buildings (which are beyond the scope of the blog post) but regardless of why it occurs what can be done and how do you do it ?

Up until now it has been hard to do anything and only a few well intentioned and committed buildings, executives and managers have made improvements.

But a few smart and committed people are changing that to empower strata buildings to go green.

Christine Byrne and the Green Strata Network has launched a website called greenstrata.com.au and it describes itself as a site is for owners and their owners corporations to learn, find and share information about making our buildings more sustainable.  And, it is – covering the following areas (and much more)

• Community – what your owners corporation can do to help your residents live more sustainable lives and how to strengthen the community in your building to work towards greater sustainability
• Energy – what your owners corporation can do to reduce energy consumption and what options you have for producing energy from renewable sources
• Gardens & Grounds – sustainable uses for your gardens and grounds
• Materials – how you can use more sustainable products and building materials on your common property
• Rebates & Incentives – what rebates and incentives are on offer from governments and other agencies
• Transport Support – how your owners corporation can support your residents in choosing and using sustainable transport options
• Waste – how your owners corporation can help residents reduce the amount of waste ending up in landfill
• Water – what your owners corporation can do to reduce water consumption and what options you have for water capture and reuse

So check it out now and take some green initiatives into your strata building tomorrow.

Now, give me back my hemp bag as I need to buy some organic vegetables and I can’t carry them all on my pushbike without it.

Francesco …

It’s 2011 … and it’s a New Strata Year

Wow … another year starts and there’s only 364 days left before it’s over.  And, it’s also the start of another decade.

So, it’s a great year for new beginnings, changes and milestones.

What will happen in strata in Australia ?  Who knows … but here are ten of my predictions (some more obvious than others) -

1. We’ll certainly have a new government in NSW and probably get a new Federal government too
2. Interest rates will rise some more this year
3. The property market will get worse during the year before it starts to pick up again
4. Property developers will get very active again in 2011
5. There’ll be even more demands on managers (and others) by strata owners
6. Prices for all services in strata will come under further pressure .. so strata management fees will not rise (again)
7. Governments will continue to increase regulations and restrictions on managers, committees, developers and lawyers in strata
8. Some managers will get bigger by acquisitions and interstate expansion
9. More small manager (micro strata management companies) will keep popping up in every state
10. I might do something interesting and innovative in the strata-sphere

What about you?  What do you think will happen and/or what do you plan to do in 2011?

Let’s make the year memorable by doing the things we’ve been putting off, or are a bit hard or that just haven’t been done before. 

After all … how can anything new be worse than the old stuff that’s been done for years (or decades) and all the routine stuff being done in the strata space at the moment?

See you at the launch of your new thing (and loving it!).

Francesco …

Welcome (back) to my Blog

As a Sydney based strata expert strata (and lawyer), I started this blog last year about all things of interest in high density real estate.  And, it's become a huge success with thousands of people watching the blog and following my posts.

So, if you're involved or interested in high density real estate (whether strata, community, association, condominium, company, co-operative or anything else) why not also keep a track of this blog.

In 2011 apart from all the usual stuff I've been blogging about, I’ll also be adding regular blog posts covering –

·       important strata cases explained in easy to understand ways

·       book reviews of new and interesting books

·       strata fundamentals explained for everyone, and

·       exploring challenges faced by strata buildings

I hope you enjoy my blog this year.

You can also contact me anytime by any of the following.

Email  francesco.andreone@gmail.com

Twitter  #frankandreone

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001187986408

Mobile  +614 1886 4003

Phone  +612 8569 0989

Facsimile +612 8569 0155

Skype  frank.andreone

Post  PO Box A968, Sydney NSW 1235, Australia

Francesco ...