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Strata lawyer Allison Benson.

This idea would save apartment owners $333m. Strata managers took ‘high offence’

A system of payments that has inflated the cost of apartment living is facing an overhaul, as the NSW government considers a historic ban.

  • David Barwell

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Graham Palmer is a 79-year-old renter in Ringwood who has been trying to get solar panels installed in his four unit block to save on power, but has been blocked by investor owners.

‘We’ve been left out’: The home owners locked out of cheap energy

Some Victorians who are keen to electrify their homes are unable to do so as easily as their neighbours.

  • Caroline Zielinski
Mark Richards has been part of four different owners corporations over the past 20 years and says he has never come across a strata manager who was forthcoming about the kickback they make from suggesting specific insurance providers in his buildings.

‘Ethically indefensible’: The kickbacks costing Victorian apartment owners thousands

One in four Victorians lives in a strata property, but few realise their managers are pocketing secret insurance kickbacks that can drive up annual premiums.

  • Rachael Dexter
The Somerset Apartments in Carlingford are built by Dyldam.

The trail of destruction left by two of Sydney’s most infamous property figures

It is a double whammy for this Sydney apartment block, which was built by one of the most notorious property developers, and managed by one of the city’s worst strata managers.

  • Anthony Segaert
Wilbur Tong is leading the class action against Bluestone OCM.

‘Abuse of power’: Strata giant faces landmark lawsuit over charges

The legal action is being fought on behalf of lot owners in dozens of Melbourne buildings who have received misleading fee notices.

  • Rachael Dexter
The high fee schools are already confronting the big cost increases in 2026 from Government-led funding models and public sector wage increases for teachers.

Private school fees and luxury cars driving surge in bankruptcies

Private schools chasing fees have driven 128 bankruptcy actions since 2021, of which 45 were last financial year.

  • Shane Wright
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Darlington resident David Glover said disputes can be challenging to navigate for both strata bodies and unit owners.

Barking dogs, prams and air-con: What Sydney’s apartment dwellers fight about

Disputes between neighbours in NSW strata properties are surging, new data shows.

  • David Barwell
Rosanna townhouse resident Sarah Brooks has copped “late fees” from strata management company BCSG despite them being ruled unlawful.

Unlawful strata fees are banned. Managers are charging them anyway

The “administration fees” tacked onto your levy notice are unlawful, according to VCAT. Strata management firms are still charging them, but owners want their money back.

  • Rachael Dexter
Shahrzad Rafezi and her fiance Nicholas White.

‘Anarchy’: Technicality renders owners corporations effectively useless

Millions of Victorians living in strata have effectively lost the ability to enforce basic rules after a VCAT judgment.

  • Rachael Dexter
Merrick Morley, who bought an apartment with many defects and high strata fees, along with bills from the embedded network.

‘Death by a thousand cuts’: How strata owners get ripped off

Property developers allow embedded network operators to install the energy and water infrastructure in buildings for free, increasing the developer’s profit. But for many apartment owners, who pay over-the-top levies for the services, it comes at a cost.

  • Cathy Sherry