The PROPERTY DOCTORS, Sydney Australia Novak Properties
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The PROPERTY DOCTORS, Sydney Australia Novak Properties
EP. 1342 “Strata Living 2024: Smoke & Odors – What Tenants Can & Can’t Do”
What happens when regulations intended to protect start feeling like overreach? Join us as we invite Cleo, a seasoned property manager with over 15 years of experience, to unpack the evolving landscape of New South Wales strata laws. Cleo shares her expert insights on the intricacies of smoke drift and odorous nuisances in unit communities, highlighting how bylaws and committee powers have transformed the tenant-landlord dynamic. We explore the growing tension between necessary regulations and their unintended consequences, like bizarre new laws requiring landlords to pay for lost keys. Cleo paints a vivid picture of the challenges faced by both non-smokers and smokers, including the unexpected side effects of trying to keep the smoke out.
Our discussion digs into why smoking complaints are on the rise, despite smokers following the once-accepted balcony rule. With more stringent bylaws empowering committees, what used to be a decades-old nuisance has now become a major issue. Cleo shares real-life stories, such as tenants who refuse to open windows to avoid smoke, ultimately leading to mold problems. We also touch on the parallels with other contentious strata issues, like pet ownership, revealing how living in shared spaces requires navigating a complex web of ever-evolving regulations. Tune in to hear how Cleo's experience sheds light on maintaining harmony in these communities while balancing individual freedoms and collective responsibilities.
New South Wales strata laws, smoke, odours, stinky tenants, stinky landlords. Stay tuned, we're going to talk about all of it today. Oh, I'm the ringleader, so what's up? Oh, juicy, stinky topic, how are you, Cleo?
Speaker 2:I'm good. Thank you Very good, Can't complain?
Speaker 1:Expert property manager Cleo. I'm good, thank you very good, can't complain. Expert property manager Cleo with you, how long you been a property manager now?
Speaker 2:Too long, I don't know over 15 years now.
Speaker 1:Absolute expert, seen and heard it all, and you're going to share some of your knowledge today when it comes to strata, smoke, drift, wa, waft, whatever we call it. But I just have to say before we start, we've got to be careful as a city and as a country to be too regulated. I think it's really, really dangerous. Melbourne's just introduced some more laws. I read one today that if a tenant loses their key, a landlord has to pay for it.
Speaker 2:That's a new law.
Speaker 1:That's outrageous. It's a new law and all these laws are like that. They come into place, but we've got to be really careful because, um, every time we we introduce a law to restrict people, um, you know, we should be introducing a law to free people, because there's just so many laws now. The great kerry packer said that in one of his speeches in court. It's on youtube. It's my favorite thing on YouTube to watch. But let's talk about smoking. Now tell us what you know it's.
Speaker 2:It's a touchy topic. I mean, we all know that. You know you can't smoke inside a venue. You know you see all the smokers stand outside. You know when they've, you know, finished their meal at a restaurant or whatever they were out on the street. The same thing goes with tenants. Now they are expected to smoke outside and away from common property. A lot of these bylaws that Strata introduced. Most buildings now have a no smoking policy introduced into those bylaws.
Speaker 2:And for those that don't know, a bylaw is like the common rules for the building outside of the internal space that the owner owns. So common property, garaging, all these things, that living in a unit community. There's a bible, a set of rules there as well. So I guess the contentious point is balconies. A balcony is outside Smokers.
Speaker 2:In the past you do the right thing you stand out on your balcony and you smoke. It's not affecting the owner's unit inside as far as damages. But now the smoke drift that goes through the neighbouring properties becomes a problem and complaints arise. So as a property manager you are supposed to give a copy of the bylaws to your tenants at the start of the tenancy. So as long as they know the rules, once they've broken those rules, you can say well, you were given the bylaws.
Speaker 2:This is a warning. You need to stop smoking because it's affecting the neighbors, and we do get that a lot, um more commonly now. Um, you know, I had a tenant the other day where the lady that lives next door she's stopped opening her windows completely and now her bathroom's full of mold because she doesn't want the smoke, and it's very extreme that she's done that. At the same time, she's also in breach because she's not ventilating the property. But we can understand why she's not. It's smoking. It's a problem for people that aren't smokers, especially in unit blocks why is it a problem now?
Speaker 1:like Like, this was a 20, 30 year old, 40, 50 year old problem. Why is the problem now? Why?
Speaker 2:is it?
Speaker 1:arising. So much now.
Speaker 2:I think because the committee has more control and those bylaws are more intense. It used to just be no pet, no pet, ban bylaw in your property. We can't even have that now. So as an owner, you can't say I don't want dogs in my unit, I don't want to hear dogs barking, I don't want this adult. You can't say that. So, like you said, um being so regulated, smoking has also been introduced with that. They're very, very passionate about it. Health reasons, I understand, but even so I can't see a smoker in a unit block. Every time they want a cigarette having to go outside of their unit, go down onto the common property street, have a cigarette and then come back up in the rain in winter.
Speaker 1:You know, like it's, just it's one of those things and the issue that I have is is look, I'm all up, um, you know, like it's just, it's one of those things and the issue that I have is is look, I'm all up to you know, kicking a smoker up the ass and don't smoke for that reason. But you know, at the same time, every time, like I said, you introduce something like this, like the next thing you know is is smoking barbecues, and you know it, know it's like. Well, you know, like, you know, it's obviously a problem to smoke, but barbecues put out even more smoke than smokers, so you should not be allowed to have a barbecue in your balcony. It's like, man, you know, I can't have a Barbie in my own house, my own balcony, I think it's.
Speaker 1:You know, it's really getting difficult sometimes to live, and you had an example that we'll talk about off air this morning, where some tenants have been in a property for a long time and it was that thick on the walls and ceilings. What happened there? Well, that was something inside.
Speaker 2:They were old school, like the. You know, I think that when they first rented they were already in their mid to late 40s, so heavy, heavy smokers, and they smoked inside the whole time. The balcony door would have been left open but they still smoked inside. It was on the walls, it was on the blinds, it was in even in the bathroom. I was like shocked that there was nicotine on the tiles in the bathroom. I mean, go to the toilet and they're smoking cigarettes while they're in there. You can just imagine it. You know, permanently there.
Speaker 1:Just living their best life. They're just living their best life.
Speaker 2:But it was gross. Like I couldn't smell it in there and I guess that's another thing, like with people that vape. Now you know that's not affecting anything. No, airspay is not that I'm condoning it, but there is a difference with tenants and property, with vaping versus smoking and you know. But yeah, this place was disgusting. It was horrible. The owner's doing complete reno, having to strip down all the walls. You have to clean at first.
Speaker 1:You can't just paint over it and um that also, you know, brought my attention through the paint yeah, it's, it's not good.
Speaker 2:So you can only imagine what the lungs look like. But you know, having said that, doing that reno with the painting and the smells and the odors it also brings up. You know, certain cooking curry, like the curry smell when you have a tenant that cooks a lot of curry in their unit welcome to dy, welcome to DY, welcome to. Dy, After you cook a certain food, you're not allowed to use a certain spice.
Speaker 1:You know the cooking police are going to come in and add that to the well, that's, that's dy, isn't it? When you um, when you come to dy and when you walk?
Speaker 1:sorry so when you come, when you walk through dy uh you go through unit block in dy you always will smell, uh, every single flavor of the world in the lobbies and it really frustrates some people. I love it. I'm probably the worst person to talk about this in terms of smoking, because I'm actually keen for the smokers, keen for the barbecuers, keen for the curry cookers. You know, I think it's great, but where are we going with this Cleo Presently? What's acceptable and what's not acceptable when it comes to having a fag at home?
Speaker 2:You can't smoke inside. You can't smoke on the balcony. If I was a tenant out there and a smoker, I'd be looking at where the unit is situated and I'd always go top floor If you're a smoker and you want to. At where the unit is situated, and I'd always go top floor if you're a smoker and you want to go outside and you're at the top, the smoke's just going to go out into the, you know, into the sky, into the air. It'll just dissipate that way if you're down and it's going up into the units around you. Not a good spot. So you got to look at your position as a smoker, where you are, how close the unit building is across.
Speaker 1:Okay how close the balconies are around you. Be on the top floor. You know what? That's a cracker of a tip. If you're a smoker or a barbecuer, hit the top floor, kids.
Speaker 2:Yeah, get some exercise up those stairs and enjoy life.
Speaker 1:And it'll keep you fit um as well and listen just before we go um. Owners attitudes with, with, with tenants, smoking tolerance, no tolerance, like these owners you're talking about for 15 years. They must, they must have known.
Speaker 2:I find the landlords are very tolerant to smokers. Their rent's paid, paid on time, usually there's no issues. The only issue is that they smoke. You know, having so many other tenant issues that we come across, the smoking does not deter an owner. Sometimes they'll say are they a smoker at the application process because they maybe have had tenants that smoked inside. But as far as complaints with smoking, I haven't really experienced many landlords that are really opposed. They just say oh well, you know, let them know that they're not allowed or they're annoying the neighbors. You know they don't have a stance of you know we'll terminate those tenants. I haven't had that yet there you go, all right.
Speaker 1:Well, hopefully we helped the uh smoky people out there, the non-smoky people out there today. Educate everyone a little bit. Have a great day see ya, bye, guys.