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Australasian Strata Insights 2022

Author or co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Danielle Hynes, Yi Lu, Reg Wade

Keywords: Building management, Development, Economics / markets,

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Summary:

This project, supported by Strata Community Association who are the peak body for the strata industry in Australia and New Zealand, provides a comprehensive picture of the strata industry in Australia and New Zealand. The 2022 report is the third instalment of strata insights published by the City Futures Research Centre. National, state and territory information sheets provide information on the number of strata properties, their value, the demographic characteristics of their residents, and the professionals employed to serve them.

The regulation of families with children in apartments

Author or co-authors: Sophie-May Kerr, Hazel Easthope, Cathy Sherry

Published: Kerr, S.M., Easthope, H., and Sherry, C. (2024) The regulation of families with children in apartments. Housing Studies. Online first, DOI: 10.1080/02673037.2024.2313591

This paper has been peer reviewed

Keywords: Building management, By-laws/rules/CC&Rs, Children, Disputes/conflict, Governance, Liveability, Qualitative research/interviews,

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Summary:

The success of compact cities depends on built environment quality, social relationships within buildings, and broader social norms. This paper focuses on the experiences of families with children. We extend on existing research that documents families’ experiences of poor design, to recognise the role regulation plays in shaping a sense of home. Utilising narratives of parents raising children in apartments in Sydney, Australia, we argue social norms, neighbourly interactions, and by-laws interact to enforce codes of behaviour that impinge upon family life.

The practice and roles of condominium housing for tackling urban problems in the case of Gondar city, Ethiopia

Author or co-authors: Bantayehu Workineh

Published: Heliyon

This paper has been peer reviewed

Keywords: Development, Equity, Home ownership,

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Summary:

The Ethiopian government designed the condominium housing program to afford houses for residents, which requires the provision of infrastructure and faculties in the new developed areas. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate condominium housing institutional problems, actors, and roles in reducing urban problems. The researcher used mixed research approaches. The condominium can manage land; enhance housing supply, minimize service provision costs and compensation expenses, reduce number of expropriated farmers, minimize horizontal city expansion; and enhance housing affordability.

Impacts of building defects on the health and wellbeing of apartment residents: a scoping review

Author or co-authors: Nicole Johnston, Fiona Andrews, Richard Tucker, Anahita Sal Moslehian

Published: Building Research and Information

Funders: Strata Community Insurance

Keywords: Building improvements, Construction, Defects, Qualitative research/interviews,

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Summary:

While recent high-profile incidents have highlighted the impacts of building defects, there remains a dearth of comprehensive research that examines the full spectrum of health risks encountered by residents living in apartments affected by these defects. In this paper, an interdisciplinary perspective provides a comprehensive and structured synthesis of the literature on the varied impacts of lifecycle construction quality characteristics and defects on the health and wellbeing of apartment residents, including classification of methodological approaches.

Condominium to the Country: The Sprawl of Ownership within Private Local Government in British Columbia

Author or co-authors: Douglas Harris

Published: Law & Social inquiry

Keywords: Gated community/Master-planned Estate, Governance, Law, Public/private,

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Summary:

As a form of land ownership, condominium enables subdivision and produces local government. Designed to facilitate the production of apartments as distinct parcels of land, in some jurisdictions the condominium form may also be deployed to subdivide land for single-house lots within a structure of private local government. The principal effect of extending condominium to unbuilt land is not to enable subdivision, something that is already common, but, rather, to endow groups of single-house lot owners with fiscal capacity and governing authority to assume important aspects of local government.

Multi-Unit Developments & Owners’ Management Companies: A Compilation of Writing from The Housing Agency

Author or co-authors: David Rouse, David Rouse

Published: Various

Keywords: Building management, Financial management, Governance, Law, Liveability, Sustainability,

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Summary:

This publication is a compilation of writing from Ireland about multi-unit developments (MUDs), and owners’ management companies (OMCs). OMCs are responsible for the management of shared spaces and services in managed estates such as apartments.
The writing aims to explain the relationships, stakeholders, and systems that underpin an expanding component of Ireland’s housing stock. It is hoped that the reader will gain a better understanding of the elements necessary to achieve successful apartment living.

Investigating Building Product Selection and Information Transparency

Author or co-authors: Nicole Johnston, Michael Teys

Funders: Alspec

Keywords: Building improvements, Construction, Qualitative research/interviews,

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Summary:

Building product performance is an under-researched area. There are numerous aspects of building products non-conformance and non-compliance that require investigation in order to understand the true extent and intricacies of the problem. For this project, we focus on product selection accountability. This is because irrespective of the extent of the problem, there needs to be confidence that those designing and constructing our built environment are undertaking due diligence to ensure the building products chosen and installed are compliant and conformant.

Investigating passive fire protection defects in residential buildings

Author or co-authors: Nicole Johnston, Michael Teys

Funders: Victorian Building Authority; Plus Systems

Keywords: Construction, Defects, Information available to owners and residents, Repairs and maintenance,

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Summary:

In modern buildings, a combination of passive and active fire protection systems are used in an effort to safeguard residents from death or injury by facilitating safe evacuation, enabling emergency services to safely undertake activities, and limiting the spread of fire to other properties. To avoid a catastrophic outcome, all fire protection systems must complement each other, working together in a holistic way. The aim of this research was to better understand commonly identified passive fire protection defects and the regulatory environment associated with this construction system.

The problem of aging housing: A co- and re-design approach

Author or co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Sandra Karina Löschke

Published: Loschke, S.K. and Easthope, H., 2022. The problem of aging housing: A co-and re-design approach. Architecture Australia, 111(2), pp.55-57.

Keywords: Aged housing, Architecture, Building improvements,

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Summary:

Older apartment blocks represent a significant urban asset, but many no longer suit their current inhabitants. Sandra Karina Löschke and Hazel Easthope look to Europe, where many redesign projects that involve residents in the process have transformed the quality of apartment living. How might we adopt similar methods of renovation in the Australian context?

Adoption of Renewable Energy Systems in common properties of multi-owned buildings: Introduction of ‘Energy Entitlement’

Author or co-authors: Aravind Poshnath, Dr Behzad Rismanchi, Prof. Abbas Rajabifard

Published: Energy Policy

This paper has been peer reviewed

Keywords: By-laws/rules/CC&Rs, Community, Home ownership, Policy, Sustainability,

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Summary:

The multiple ownership of the Renewable Energy Systems (RES) in common properties of Multi-owned buildings (MOBs) develops energy and benefit allocation concerns. The research poses the ‘Energy Entitlement’ of apartment owners as a critical research concept to promote the adoption of RES in MOBs. We scrutinise the factors influencing the adoption of RES in MOBs and the existing energy allocation frameworks proposed in the literature while emphasising the necessity of ‘Energy Entitlement’ that calls for an equitable delineation of energy ownership integrated with land administration principles.