Institution/Organisation:
Authored/ Co-authored Research
Title: Under-Supply of Schooling in the Gentrified and Regenerated Inner City
Published: Cities, vol. 56, pp. 16 – 23
Author/Co-authors: Cathy Sherry, Hazel Easthope
Keywords: Children, Liveability, Planning, Policy, Public/private, Sustainability,
Summary:
Governments and planners in the Global North are increasingly faced with the challenge of providing services for growing numbers of families in the inner city. This article explores the actual and projected presence of children in inner Sydney and the pressure that gentrification and high density development has placed on school places. The conclusion of the research is that inner urban redevelopment must include sufficient public space and infrastructure not only for schools in the immediate future, but also for adaptive reuse for other, perhaps equally unanticipated, needs in the longer-term
Title: Exploring the regulatory framework and governance of decentralised water management systems: a strata and community title perspective
Published: National Water Commission
Funders: National Water Commission
Author/Co-authors: Nicole Johnston, Jan Warnken, Chris Guilding
Keywords: Environment, Governance, Qualitative research/interviews, Sustainability, Utilities / networks,
Summary:
The broad aim of the report is to explore the regulatory framework and governance issues associated with decentralised water management systems ) within a strata and community title (S&CT) context. Concerns about the capacity of centralised water supply systems to deliver reliable and secure water supplies have triggered interest in the potential of localised DWMSs as an alternative approach to water management. S&CT developments appear to represent strong potential vehicles for promoting DWMSs because there is an extant legislative framework that supports the governance and management .
Title: Governing the Compact City: The challenges of apartment living in Sydney, Australia
Published: Housing Studies; v. 24; no. 2; pp. 243 – 259; 0267-3037 (ISSN)
This paper has been peer reviewed
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Bill Randolph
Keywords: Development, Equity, Governance, Law, Planning, Redevelopment / termination,
Summary:
This paper addresses the challenges facing the strata sector in Sydney in the context of current Australian metropolitan planning strategies promoting increased urban consolidation. It argues that the current focus on higher density development is vulnerable to challenges of regulation, representation and termination in strata developments. Furthermore, the increasing size and complexity of strata schemes as well as the existence of ageing strata stock are placing pressure on the strata title system in NSW . The concept of ‘governance’ provides one mechanism for improving understanding.
Title: Strata Stakeholder Mapping
Published: City Futures Research Centre, University of New South Wales
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Caitlin Buckle,
Keywords:
Summary:
This document is intended as a reference document to help organisations understand the formal connections between the various stakeholders involved in the strata sector and beyond in Sydney.
Title: Governing the Compact City: The role and effectiveness of strata management
Published: City Futures Research Centre, UNSW; Sydney
Funders: This report is based on research undertaken with Australian Research Council Grant LP0989373 with support from Strata Community Australia (NSW), NSW Fair Trading, NSW Land and Property Information, the Owners Corporation Network of Australia Ltd. , Lannock Strata Finance and Macquarie Bank.
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Bill Randolph, Sarah Judd
Keywords: Building management, By-laws/rules/CC&Rs, Community, Defects, Disputes/conflict, Governance,
Summary:
This Executive Summary outlines the main findings of the research project . The project had three major aims:
1. To explore the role, capacity and effectiveness of owners corporations as agencies of property governance and management in contemporary urban Australia.
2. To explore the capacity and effectiveness of strata managing agents as mediators of outcomes for residents and owners in the sector, and their role and function within the overall structure of management and governance.
3. To assess how well residential strata works from strata owners’ points of view.
Title: Home Modifications in Strata: Final Report
Published: City Futures Research Centre 2013
Funders: Leichhardt Council
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Ryan van den Nouwelant
Keywords: Building improvements, Repairs and maintenance,
Summary:
The research reports on:
– Home modification needs in strata schemes identified by residents, peak body representatives and other professionals.
– Existing policy and legislation that affects the process of undertaking home modifications in strata titled properties.
– Challenges in undertaking home modifications and opportunities for change.
Title: Renewing the Compact City: Economically viable and socially sustainable approaches to urban redevelopment
Published: City Futures Research Centre, UNSW Australia; Sydney, Australia
Funders: Scheme – LINKAGE PROJECT, Funder ref. no. – LP130100400, Funding agency – AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH COUNCIL
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Laurence Troy, Bill Randolph, Laura Crommelin, Simon Pinnegar
Keywords: Development, Planning, Redevelopment / termination,
Summary:
The aim of this project was to explore equitable and viable solutions to what has emerged as a fundamental issue facing Australian cities in coming decades: how to effectively, efficiently and inclusively redevelop older areas of privately owned multi‐unit strata titled housing to achieve the higher densities needed to accommodate population growth without exacerbating social inequalities and collateral social disruption. The research therefore addresses questions of both feasibility and equity regarding the termination and renewal of strata schemes.
Title: Retirement Village or the General Community? Downsizing Choices of Older Australians
Published: State Of Australian Cities Conference 2015
Funders: Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Bruce Judd, Edgar Liu, Catherine Bridge
Keywords: Aged housing, Liveability,
Summary:
Of the 18% of Australians 50 years of age and older who moved between 2006 and 2011, it is estimated that around half had downsized by number of bedrooms. The majority downsized into private housing in the general community and around one fifth into retirement villages. This paper compares the demographic characteristics of these two groups, circumstances leading to moving, considerations made in their choice of accommodation, difficulty of the moving process and their satisfaction with the outcomes.
Title: Urban renewal and strata scheme termination: Balancing communal management and individual property right
Published: Environment and Planning A; v. 45; no. 6; pp. 1421 – 1435; 0308-518X (ISSN)
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Sarah Hudson, Bill Randolph
Keywords: Development, Law, Planning, Redevelopment / termination,
Summary:
This paper makes particular reference to the implications of this debate in the greater Sydney metropolitan area, which raises universal issues regarding tensions between the government and the market and between individual rights and the collective good. This paper argues that there is a case for changing the legislation, with government involvement required to respond to the significant social issues raised, to guarantee the needs of existing owners and tenants are met, and to ensure that high quality, economically viable, buildings result.
Title: Managing Major Repairs in Residential Strata Developments in New South Wales
Funders: NSW Office of Fair Trading
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Bill Randolph, Sarah Judd
Keywords:
Summary:
This document reports on the findings of research carried out by the City Futures Research Centre at the University of NSW into the management of major repairs and maintenance of common property in residential strata properties (containing three or more lots) in New South Wales. This is the first report to outline the attitudes and experiences of strata owners towards planning for major repairs and maintenance in NSW.
Title: How property title impacts urban consolidation: a lifecycle examination of multi-title developments
Published: Urban Policy and Research; v. 32; no. 3; pp. 289 – 304; 1476-7244 (ISSN)
This paper has been peer reviewed
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Cathy Sherry, , Sacha Reid, Jan Warnken, Eddo Coiacetto, Diane Dredge, Chris Guilding, Dawne Lamminmaki
Keywords: Building management, Developer handover, Development, Redevelopment / termination,
Summary:
This article employs a life cycle framework to examine the profound operational and governance challenges that are associated with the fusion of private lot ownership with common property ownership. The article calls for a more explicit recognition of these challenges by academics, policymakers, practitioners and the broader community.
Title: Principal–agent problems in multi-unit developments: The impact of developer actions on the on-going management of strata titled properties
Published: Environment and Planning A; v. 48; no. 9; pp. 1829 – 1847; 1472-3409 (ISSN)
This paper has been peer reviewed
Funders: The research reported in this paper was supported under the Australian Research Council’s Linkage Projects funding scheme [project number LP0989373]
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Bill Randolph
Keywords: Building management, Developer control, Developer handover, Development, Governance,
Summary:
This paper demonstrates the impact the actions of developers during the design and build phases of multi-unit residential developments can have on the quality and effectiveness of the on-going management of developments. The findings presented are drawn from a large research project that included interviews and surveys with property owners, executive committee (body corporate) members, strata (property) managers, and peak body representatives about the management of strata schemes in the state of New South Wales in Australia.
Title: The role of retirees in residential “private governments”
Published: Journal of Urban Affairs; v. 37; no. 3; pp. 311 – 326; 1467-9906 (ISSN)
This paper has been peer reviewed
Funders: This research was funded by the Australian Research Council under the Linkage Grants Program (LP0989373). The project partners for the larger project were Strata Community Australia (NSW), the Owners Corporation Network of Australia, NSW Fair Trading, NSW Land and Property Information, Lannock Strata Finance, and Macquarie Bank.
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope
Keywords: Building management, Community, Information available to owners and residents, Quantitative research/statistics,
Summary:
The article argues there has been a devolution of responsibility to the “private governments” that manage strata schemes, without sufficient support and training. To address this challenge, and realize the potential benefits afforded by the increasing availability of retired volunteers, increased support is essential to encourage better property management and underpin the good governance of urban areas.
Title: Children in Apartments: Implications for the Compact City
Published: Urban Policy and Research; v. 29; no. 4; pp. 415 – 434; 1476-7244 (ISSN)
This paper has been peer reviewed
Funders: Sydney Olympic Park Authority
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Andrew Tice
Keywords: Children, Development, Planning,
Summary:
This article presents an innovative analysis of Australian Census data that identifies lower income households with children as a significant sub-sector of the resident apartment population, geographically concentrated in the lower value middle-ring suburbs of Sydney. An examination of one middle-ring urban renewal site (the Sydney Olympic Park site) provides evidence to suggest that new residential developments adjacent to areas dominated by an apartment market with a significant proportion of lower income families with children are themselves likely to see an influx of these households.
Title: The Rise of Micro-government: Strata Title, Reluctant Democrats and the New Urban Vertical Polity
Published: The Public City: Essays in Honour of Paul Mees; Chapter no. 15; pp. 210 – 224; 9780522867305 (ISBN)
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Bill Randolph
Keywords: Building management, Planning, Policy, Public/private,
Summary:
Paul Mees’ urban ideal counted on watchful, confident and well-informed citizenry to work collectively in a quest for fair and just cities. As such, The Public City is largely a critique of neo-liberalism and its arguably negative influence on urban prospects. As Mees explained it, neo-liberal urbanism was much more than a political aberration; it was a threat that imposed many costly failures in an age overshadowed by grave ecological challenges. This chapter is Bill Randolph and Hazel Easthope’s strata-related contribution to this collection.
Title: Living Well in Greater Density
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Sarah Judd
Keywords: Community, Liveability,
Summary:
In this report we provide a review of Australian and international literature on issues faced by people living in higher density. Our focus is at the level of resident experience and at the scale of the building or development. This review is supported by the input of a range of stakeholders with an extensive knowledge of these issues who participated in a workshop discussion in Sydney (see below for a list of participants). We investigate these issues with regard to the lived experience of residents in higher density dwellings across tenures and forms of housing provision.
Title: Downsizers and Other Movers: The Housing Options, Choices and Dilemmas of Older Australians
Published: Universal Design 2014: Three Days of Creativity and Diversity; v. 35; 978-1-61499-403-9 (ISBN)
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Bruce Judd, Edgar Liu, Catherine Bridge
Keywords: Aged housing,
Summary:
Based on findings from two recent research projects funded by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, this paper explores why most older Australians remain in their own homes, why those who do move or downsize do so, into what types of dwellings and tenure, and how they go about this process. The findings challenge conventional understandings of both housing utilization and downsizing.
Title: Downsizing amongst older Australians, AHURI Final Report No.214
Published: Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute; Melbourne
Funders: Australian Government
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Bruce Judd, Edgar Liu, Laura Davy, Catherine Bridge
Keywords: Aged housing,
Summary:
The broad aim of this research was to understand more fully the phenomenon of
downsizing in the Australian context including: the extent of downsizing amongst older Australians; who downsizes and why; what is involved in the process; what are the outcomes; what obstacles discourage downsizing; and what policies could facilitate downsizing where appropriate and desired by older people.
Title: Understanding Downsizing in Later Life and its Implications for Housing and Urban Policy
Published: State of Australian Cities Conference 2013: Refereed Proceedings; 1740440331 (ISBN)
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Bruce Judd, Edgar Liu, Catherine Bridge
Keywords: Aged housing,
Summary:
This paper discusses the findings of a recently completed AHURI research project on downsizing involving analysis of ABS data, and a national mail survey together with in-depth interviews and policy forums in three states of Australia (New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia). Based on the survey findings and ABS analysis it provides an estimate of the extent of downsizing in Australia. It then explores how downsizing is conceptualised in the academic and policy literature as well as in the popular understanding of the older participants in the survey and interviews.
Title: Green Square Community Survey 2014: Final Report
Published: City Futures Research Centre; Sydney, Australia 2014
Funders: City of Sydney Council
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, , Nicole McNamara
Keywords: Community, Liveability, Planning,
Summary:
So that the City of Sydney can identify how it might best support communities’ social wellbeing associated with environmental, economic and social changes, it is essential to collect information about the experiences and desires of residents and workers. To this end, this report presents the results of a community survey of residents and workers in the Green Square Urban Renewal Area in Sydney, Australia.
Title: Green Square Pilot Survey: Final Report
Published: City Futures Research Centre; Sydney 2013
Funders: City of Sydney Council
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Nicole McNamara
Keywords: Community, Liveability, Planning,
Summary:
This report presents the findings from a study of social interaction and social cohesion undertaken in the
Green Square urban renewal area in Sydney, Australia. The study involved the development and piloting of
a community survey.
Title: An Examination of How Conflicts of Interest Detract from Developers Upholding Governance Responsibilities in the Transition Phase of Multi-Owned Developments: A Grounded Theory Approach
Funders: The Australian College of Community Association Lawyers (ACCAL) provided a doctoral scholarship
Author/Co-authors: Nicole Johnston
Keywords: Conflicts of interest, Developer control, Development, Governance, Law, Qualitative research/interviews,
Summary:
The multi-owned development (MOD) is a unique property type consisting of at least two individually owned lots tied to communally owned common property with a separate registered entity (the body corporate) created to govern and manage the property. While the body corporate is the ultimate governing entity and the orchestra of operations for much of a MOD’s life, there is a period of time when a MOD’s developer makes governing decisions. This study is therefore exploratory in nature, as it seeks to uncover the nature of governance decisions made by developers during the transition phase.
Title: Multi-owned properties in Australia: a governance typology of issues and outcomes
Published: International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, Vol. 8 Issue: 4
Author/Co-authors: Nicole Johnston, Eric Too
Keywords: Conflicts of interest, Disputes/conflict, Financial management, Governance, Law,
Summary:
The purpose of this study is to develop a governance typology which identifies governance issues and outcomes. The study reviewed the legislation in three Australian states to identify specific governance categories and the legislative requirements related to those categories. To gain group opinion about the specific governance issues and outcomes, the Delphi method was utilised whereby industry experts participated in a two-round survey questionnaire. A typology was developed as a result of consensus found between participants. The findings identified key governance issues and outcomes.
Title: Multi-owned developments : a life cycle review of a developing research area
Published: Property Management, Vol. 31 Issue: 5
Author/Co-authors: Nicole Johnston, Sacha Reid
Keywords:
Summary:
The purpose of this paper is to highlight the international significance of multi-owned developments, present an MOD life cycle conceptual model and review the range of identified peer-reviewed empirical research papers. The paper utilises an exploratory qualitative methodology to collate and analyse literature focusing on MODs. From the 403 research papers identified 96 peer-reviewed empirical research papers specific to MODs were examined. A MOD life cycle model has been conceptualised to facilitate a content analysis of the reviewed papers. The findings of this paper highlights the gaps
Title: Examining developer actions that embed protracted conflict and dysfunctionality in staged multi-owned residential schemes
Published: Proceedings of the Pacific Rim Real Estate Society 2012 annual conference
Author/Co-authors: Nicole Johnston, Sacha Reid, Chris Guilding
Keywords: Developer control, Developer handover, Governance, Qualitative research/interviews,
Summary:
Anecdotal evidence suggests that if inappropriate decisions are made by developers in the initial establishment phase of multi-owned residential schemes, conflict and long-term dysfunctionalism for the eventual owners result. This paper maps out practises commonly utilised by developers in establishing staged, multi-owned residential developments and the consequences that these practises can have on a scheme in the short and long-term. Findings stemming from twelve semi-structured interviews conducted with key strata and community title industry experts from around Australia.
Title: Living it up in the ‘new world city’: High-rise development and the promise of liveability
Published: Annals of Leisure Research, Vol. 16, No. 4, pp. 280-296
Author/Co-authors: Sacha Reid, Simone Fullagar, Adele Pavlidis, Kathy Lloyd
Keywords: Development, Liveability, Sociology,
Summary:
We examine how advertising images and texts promoting new high-rise developments produce notions of ‘liveability’ through the depiction of idealized spatial experiences that typify urban leisure lifestyles. The focus of our analysis is three high-rise developments in Brisbane, a self-proclaimed ‘New World City’, and the capital of Queensland. We identify how marketing images evoke particular emotions to construct desirable relationships between consumers, domestic space and urban leisurescapes.
Title: Women’s perspectives on liveability in vertical communities: a feminist materialist approach
Published: Australian Planner, Vol. 54, No. 1, pp. 16-23
Author/Co-authors: Sacha Reid, Kathy Lloyd, Wendy O’Brien
Keywords: Community, Liveability, Sociology,
Summary:
For women, changing demographic and societal trends linked to marriage, family and household composition, have led to increasing rates of female residential investment in and occupation of, high-density developments. A qualitative approach framed with a material-discursive lens was used to explore women’s perceptions of liveability and consumption of space within vertical communities. Planners, developers and other professionals need to look beyond the investor driven stock currently provided to ensure sustainable and liveable housing options for this important emerging market.
Title: Power, Ethopolitics and Community Relations: Complexities of Living in Multi-owned Properties
Published: Housing, Theory and Society, Vol 34, No. 4, pp. 439-457
This paper has been peer reviewed
Author/Co-authors: Sacha Reid, Kath Lloyd, Wendy O’Brien, Chris Guilding
Keywords: By-laws/rules/CC&Rs, Community, Governance, Sociology,
Summary:
This study explores the exercise of power in MOPs and how community is evoked as a way to govern relations. We also consider what occurs when notions of community are subverted, and the expected “lifestyle” is held hostage to ongoing conflicts and issues of exclusion.
Title: Crime in High-Rise Buildings: Planning for Vertical Community Safety
Funders: Criminology Research Council
Author/Co-authors: Sacha Reid, Michael Townsley, Danielle Reynald, John Rynne, Benjamin Hutchins
Keywords: Building management, Community, Planning, Policy, Tourism,
Summary:
The aim of this research is to inform housing and planning policy development by exploring the variation in types and volumes of crime in a range of existing high-density communities. By analysing actual rates and types of crime, building management styles and perceptions of fear of crime, the research will reveal how policing and high-rise building management styles can coalesce to create safer vertical communities.
Title: Risky facilities: Analysis of crime concentration in high-rise buildings
Funders: Criminology Research Council
Author/Co-authors: Sacha Reid, Michael Townsley, Danielle Reynald, John Rynne
Keywords: Building management, Law, Planning, Policy,
Summary:
This is the trends and issues paper derived from the larger project on Crime in High Rise Buildings project. The research investigated crime hotspots within the Surfers Paradise, Australia suburb which is dominated by high density and a mix of holiday and residential tenure types. By analysing actual rates and types of crime, guardianship levels, building management styles and perceptions of fear of crime, the research reveals how planning policies and high-rise building management styles can coalesce to create safer vertical communities.
Title: Collective Property: Owning and Sharing Residential Space
Published: Modern Studies in Property Law vol 7, ed. N. Hopkins, 152-172.
Funders: British Academy
Author/Co-authors: Sarah Blandy
Keywords: Community, Public/private, Qualitative research/interviews, Sustainability,
Summary:
The aim of this chapter is to examine, using illustrations from a co-housing development, how property is ‘constituted from the bottom up’ by those who live it. It is based on empirical research into how residents share and manage the non-privately owned spaces that they hold in common.
Title: Curbing the power of developers? Law and power in Chinese and English gated urban enclaves
Published: Geoforum (2013) June, 109-208.
Author/Co-authors: Sarah Blandy, Weng Fang
Keywords: Comparative research, Developer control, Law, Qualitative research/interviews,
Summary:
This article contributes to the legal geography literature through exploration of the contested concepts of power and law and their interconnected processes. Research findings from studies of urban gated enclaves in China and in England are used as a starting point to analyse the spatialisation of power in the creation of gated urban enclaves, with a particular focus on the role of law.This framework is then applied to temporal stages in the creation and management of gated enclaves, in the context of the different legal geographies of China and England.
Title: Socio-legal approaches to property law research.
Published: Property Law Review (2014) 3 (3), 166-175
Author/Co-authors: Sarah Blandy
Keywords: Comparative research, Governance, Law,
Summary:
This contribution to the special issue addresses the “what, how, what to be wary of, and why” questions about socio-legal approaches to researching property law. As will become clear, it is not possible to talk about “the” socio-legal approach; this article starts with these definitional difficulties and then discusses the range of research which can be labelled as socio-legal. Following an overview of the challenges faced by the socio-legal researcher, the article concludes by assessing the unique perspective provided by this research approach, with reference to multi-owned properties.
Title: The Legal Psychology of Disclosures in the Multi-owned Properties Context
Published: Presented at the 13th Annual Australian College of Community Association Lawyers Conference, Melbourne 2018
Author/Co-authors: Nicole Johnston, Karla Johnston
Keywords: Conflicts of interest, Contracts, Information available to owners and residents, Law, Psychology,
Summary:
Drawing on insights from psychological theories and understandings of mental processing, the paper evaluates the effectiveness of disclosures in aiding purchasing decisions and in mitigating the (potential) harmful effects of conflicts of interest in the multi-owned property environment.
Title: The Dynamics of Enduring Property Relationships in Land
Published: The Modern Law Review (2018) 81(1), 85-113
Author/Co-authors: Sarah Blandy, Susan Bright, Sarah Nield
Keywords: Law,
Summary:
This article proposes a new way of looking at property relationships that will enrich our understanding of how they operate. It focuses on property rights in land which are consensual in origin, although this approach could usefully be applied both to non-consensual property relationships and to other property types. Recognising both the temporal and spatial dimensions of land, the dynamics approach reflects the fact that most property relationships are lived relationships, affected by changing patterns and understandings of spatial use, relationship needs, economic realities, opportunities.
Title: Owning and Dissolving Strata Property
Published: (2017) 50:4 UBC Law Review 935
This paper has been peer reviewed
Author/Co-authors: Douglas Harris
Keywords: Home ownership, Law, Redevelopment / termination,
Summary:
Strata or condominium property creates multiple privately owned lots or units within an association of owners. Dissolving strata property involves winding-up the association and terminating the private interests. As a result, the non-consensual dissolution of strata property involves the taking of property from those owners who oppose dissolution. This article analyzes British Columbia’s move to facilitate non-consensual dissolution by lowering the required threshold in a dissolution vote from unanimous consent to 80 percent of owners.
Title: Same Building, Different Law: Global Property Development in Disparate Common Law Systems Over Two Centuries
Published: COBRA, UTS, July, 2015
Author/Co-authors: Cathy Sherry
Keywords: Law,
Summary:
To insert
Title: The New South Wales Strata and Community Titles Acts: A Case Study of Legislatively Created High Rise and Master Planned Communities
Published: International Journal of Law in the Built Environment, vol. 1, pp. 130-142
Author/Co-authors: Cathy Sherry
Keywords: By-laws/rules/CC&Rs, Law,
Summary:
This paper presents a case study of the legislative creation of high rise and master planned communities. The case study addresses relevant legislation in New South Wales, Australia. This has been a model for that in other jurisdictions, including Singapore. The legislation is shown to have achieved a range of outcomes that are not possible in ordinary Anglo-Australian property law. The research describes the legal framework for the creation of communities in a single jurisdiction. More research is needed on the specific way that legal structures hinder or promote satisfactory community living
Title: Recent Developments in Strata Law: By-Law Making Power and Short-Term Letting
Published: Australian Law Journal, vol. 90, pp. 853-9
This paper has been peer reviewed
Author/Co-authors: Cathy Sherry
Keywords: By-laws/rules/CC&Rs, Dispute resolution / courts / tribunals, Law, Rental housing,
Summary:
Can a strata owners corporation (body corporate) pass a valid by-law prohibiting lot owners from entering into short-term lettings of their apartments? According to the recent decision of the Victorian Supreme Court in Owners Corporation PS 501391P v Balcombe [2016] VSC 384 (Riordan J), the answer is no. This note considers that decision and its consequences in Victoria and other Australian States.
Title: Building Management Statements and Strata Management Statements: Unholy Mixing of Contract and Property
Published: Australian Law Journal, vol. 87, pp. 393-403.
This paper has been peer reviewed
Author/Co-authors: Cathy Sherry
Keywords: By-laws/rules/CC&Rs, Law,
Summary:
Large-scale developments are increasingly subdivided between separate “stratum” owners who share common facilities. The rights and responsibilities of owners are regulated by a registered building management statement (BMS) or strata management statement (SMS). BMSs and SMSs are not contracts; they are registered Torrens instruments. Agreements made can be suboptimal, or become so through the passage of time. Principles of property law have traditionally allowed courts to safeguard the utility of land and courts should continue to perform this role within the BMS and SMS statutory framework.
Title: Airbnb Short-Term Letting in Strata Schemes
Published: Australian Law Journal, vol. 91, pp. 954-7
This paper has been peer reviewed
Author/Co-authors: Cathy Sherry
Keywords: By-laws/rules/CC&Rs, Law, Planning, Rental housing,
Summary:
To insert
Title: Lessons in Personal Freedom and Functional Land Markets: What Strata and Community Title Can Learn from Traditional Doctrines of Property
Published: University of New South Wales Law Journal, vol. 36, pp. 280-315.
Author/Co-authors: Cathy Sherry
Keywords: By-laws/rules/CC&Rs, Law,
Summary:
To insert
Title: A Bigger Strata Footprint: Are We Aware of the Implications?
Published: Griffith University Strata and Community Title Conference, 2011
Author/Co-authors: Cathy Sherry
Keywords: By-laws/rules/CC&Rs, Law,
Summary:
To insert
Title: Does Discrimination Law Apply to Strata Schemes?
Published: Law Society of New South Wales Property Law Specialist Accreditation Conference, 4 August, 2017, Sydney
Author/Co-authors: Cathy Sherry
Keywords: By-laws/rules/CC&Rs, Law,
Summary:
Discrimination law typically applies in the public, not private sphere
• Refusing to allow a guide dog into your private home or refusing to date someone because of their religion or ethnicity might make you an unpleasant person, but it is not illegal
• Strata schemes are private property and it is not clear whether
discrimination law applies to them
• The strata Acts recognise this in the prohibition on by-laws that ban guide and hearing dogs and/or assistance animals – if those provisions were not there, prima facie schemes could prevent those animals entering schemes (…)
Title: How Indefeasible is Your Strata Title? Unresolved Torrens Problems is Strata and Community Title
Published: Bond Law Review, vol. 21, pp. 159-181
Author/Co-authors: Cathy Sherry
Keywords: By-laws/rules/CC&Rs, Law,
Summary:
Nothing sets my teeth on edge like a real estate sign screaming ‘Oversized Torrens Title Townhouses’. This is because it is unlikely that new townhouses could be on Old System titles. So why do agents use the term Torrens? Because what they in fact mean by ‘Torrens Title’ is ‘not strata title’ and ‘not community title’. Of course, strata and community title are Torrens title, but what agents are trying to convey is that the townhouses do not have titles burdened by the restrictions, obligations, social and legal complications that come with ownership of strata or community title.
Title: Anti-Social Behaviour, Expulsion from Condominium, and the Reconstruction of Ownership
Published: (2016) 54:1 Osgoode Hall Law Journal 53
Author/Co-authors: Douglas Harris
Keywords: Dispute resolution / courts / tribunals, Home ownership, Law,
Summary:
Statutory condominium regimes facilitate massive increases in the density of owners. The courts are responding to this spatial reorganization of ownership by reconstructing what it means to be the owner of an interest in land. This article analyzes the ten cases over eight years (2008-2015) in which Canadian courts grant eviction and sale orders against owners within condominium for anti-social behaviour.
Title: Fourth Generation Strata Laws for New South Wales
Published: Law Society of NSW Specialist Accreditation Conference, 2015
Author/Co-authors: Cathy Sherry
Keywords: By-laws/rules/CC&Rs, Law,
Summary:
After three years of consultation, the New South Wales government has released the Strata Schemes Management Bill 2015 and the Strata Schemes Development Bill 2015. The Bills are open for comment until August 12, 2015 and are the latest attempt in longstanding strata title legislative efforts to ‘get it right’. Of course no legislation is ever going to ‘get it right’, remedying all the problems that plague strata schemes, because strata schemes are the sharing of limited amounts of space between multiple parties with divergent interests, desires and convictions (…)
Title: Privacy and Personal Autonomy: The Social and Political Implications of By-Laws
Published: Griffith University Strata and Community Title Conference, 2013
Author/Co-authors: Cathy Sherry
Keywords: By-laws/rules/CC&Rs, Law,
Summary:
Property law is the collection of rules that regulate the rights of multiple people to the limited resource of land. When a person owns land, they own from the centre of the earth to the ‘heavens’, (the Latin maxim “cuis est solum eius est usque ad coelom et ad inferos”). Strata and community title legislation regulates the rights of people to both land and airspace, ergo, it is clearly property law.
Because strata and community title differ from non-strata and community title, there is a temptation to separate it from ordinary property law. (…)
Title: Strata Title: The New Feudalism
Published: Keynote speaker, Lateral Property: Land, Law and Power Beyond Freehold, Birkbeck College, University of London, 2016
Author/Co-authors: Cathy Sherry
Keywords: By-laws/rules/CC&Rs, Law,
Summary:
High rise and master planned development are a global phenomenon. However, property law differs between jurisdictions, requiring developers to use varied doctrines of private law to support similar developments. Private property law sometimes stymies rather than facilitates development,
leading developers to instigate changes in property law that are not always beneficial to the wider community. In Australia, the United States and England, high rise and master planned communities have been supported by changes in the common law and legislation, & consequently create complex property relations.
Title: Strata Schemes and Discrimination
Published: Griffith University Strata and Community Title Conference, 2015
Author/Co-authors: Cathy Sherry, Michael Teys
Keywords: Law,
Summary:
Strata schemes present real difficulties in relation to discrimination law that have not been sufficiently thought through in Australia, either by legislatures or by some tribunals. There are some activities of a strata scheme that are irrefutably captured by discrimination legislation. For example, members of executive committees are
prohibited from sexually harassing their strata or building manager or engaging in racial discrimination when employing a tradesman. However, there are many activities of strata schemes that are not captured, or it is unclear if they are captured. (…)
Title: Oh What a Tangled Web We Weave: Strata Legislation, Equity and the Common Law
Published: Australasian College of Community Association Lawyers Conference, Brisbane, 2015
Author/Co-authors: Cathy Sherry
Keywords: By-laws/rules/CC&Rs, Law,
Summary:
One of the fundamental aims of property statutes is to clarify the complexity of hundreds of years of judge-made property law. Some of that judge-made law is common law and some of it is equity. Equity presents particular challenges because remedies are discretionary and not available as of right. The state Torrens Acts, which all strata and community title Acts work in conjunction with, attempted to eradicate the operation of considerable equitable property rights, most notably the enforceability of equitable interests in land as a consequence of notice. (…)
Title: Navigating a complex housing landscape: University students’ housing options, pathways and outcomes
Published: State of Australian Cities National Conference 2011
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Sarah Judd, Edgar Liu
Keywords: Economics / markets, Equity, Liveability, Rental housing,
Summary:
The impact of housing on students’ wellbeing has recently gained much media and political attention in Australia. The dire situation of students living in overcrowded housing was, for example, highlighted by State MP Cr Clover Moore. This paper presents a typology of housing options available to students in metropolitan Sydney, as well as an overview of the complexities of the student population in Australia. Our typology will assist policymakers and practitioners to target particular housing pathways where interventionist housing policies and action will have the most impact.
Title: MyPlace Green Square Community Survey 2017
Funders: City of Sydney Council
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Caitlin Buckle, , Edgar Liu
Keywords: Community, Liveability, Planning,
Summary:
Green Square is the largest urban redevelopment project in the southern hemisphere, and one of the fastest growing areas in Sydney. This research aimed to develop a survey tool for on-going assessment of social interactions and social cohesion at a large-scale urban renewal site that could be used to measure the nature of social cohesion and social interaction, identify opportunities/barriers residents face regarding social cohesion and community development, understand wellbeing of residents and workers, including satisfaction/attachment to the area, preferences and desires, and future plans.
Title: MyPlace Ashmore Community Survey 2017
Funders: City of Sydney Council
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Caitlin Buckle, , Edgar Liu
Keywords: Community, Liveability, Planning,
Summary:
The 17ha Ashmore Precinct is one of the City of Sydney’s largest urban development projects. This research aimed to develop a survey tool for on-going assessment of social interactions and social cohesion at a large-scale urban renewal site that could be used to measure the nature of social cohesion and social interaction, identify opportunities/barriers residents face regarding social cohesion and community development, understand wellbeing of residents and workers, including satisfaction/attachment to the area, preferences and desires, and future plans.
Title: Sharing Property: Multi-owned Property Workshop
Author/Co-authors: Cathy Sherry, Sarah Blandy, Clare Mouat
Keywords: By-laws/rules/CC&Rs, Community, Comparative research, Dispute resolution / courts / tribunals, Governance, Information available to owners and residents, Law, Redevelopment / termination,
Summary:
Multi-owned properties constitute an ever-growing proportion of the world’s commercial and residential building stock. The multiplicity of owners and tenants produces social and legal complexity that many existing legal systems struggle to accommodate. On 29 September 2017, a diverse group of researchers, practitioners, policy and decision makers met to discuss the challenges of multi-owned properties. The themes of the workshop were drawn from the key ideas of ‘Dynamics of Enduring Property Relations’ (Blandy, Bright & Nield 2017). This is a summary of the workshop’s deliberations.
Title: 2018 Australian National Strata Data Analysis
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Caitlin Buckle, Vandanna Mann
Keywords: Building management, Development, Economics / markets,
Summary:
This project, supported by Strata Community Association who are the peak body for the strata industry in Australia, provides the first comprehensive national picture of the strata industry. The national (and 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 accompanying report provides detail on the data collection methodology.
Title: Stakeholder engagement in Kelvin Grove Urban Village
Funders: Kelvin Grove Urban Village Principal Body Corporate
Author/Co-authors: Mirko Guaralda, Lewis Atkinson, Kirralie Houghton, Glenda Amayo Caldwell, Severine Mayere, Tan Yigitcanlar, Richard Medland
Keywords: Community, Information available to owners and residents, Liveability, Sociology,
Summary:
The Kelvin Grove Principle Body Corporate has commissioned this Report. The objective is to gather a better understanding of the permanent and transient population of KGUV as well as to understand which communication strategies could work better to engage and interact with KGUV city dwellers. There is an additional research component of the project that investigates the lived and perceived space of KGUV and builds on previous research by Guaralda, Yigitcanlar, Caldwell and Houghton about knowledge communities, creative suburbs, placemaking and community engagement.
Title: Gatekeeping information in the multi-owned property environment: stymieing buyers’ rights to discover and decide
Author/Co-authors: Nicole Johnston, Rebecca Leshinsky
Keywords: Governance, Home ownership, Information available to owners and residents, Law, Policy, Quantitative research/statistics,
Summary:
The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which gatekeepers of information stymie due diligence investigations in the multi-owned property environment. The study reviewed and analysed the relevant state legislative provisions providing statutory protections for (pre)purchasers of lots within the multi-owned property context. Further, an exploratory survey questionnaire was distributed to owners corporation (OC) managers in Victoria to gain knowledge and a greater understanding of the extent to which OC managers are gatekeepers of information.
Title: Gardens in the sky: Emotional experiences in the communal spaces at height in the Pinnacle@Duxton, Singapore
This paper has been peer reviewed
Funders: Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia.
Author/Co-authors: Philip Oldfield, Yuri Hadi, Tim Heath
Keywords: Architecture, Design, Environment, Governance, Psychology,
Summary:
Highlights
The experiences and emotions of skygarden users and stakeholders is explored.
Management fear of anti-social behaviour increases at height.
Stringent rules in the skygardens fuel a sense of frustration in the residents.
A sense of contested ownership exists between residents and skygarden management.
Skygardens provide an opportunity for escapism from dense vertical living.
Title: Making a Rental Property Home
Published: Housing Studies; v. 29; no. 5; pp. 279 – 296; 1466-1810 (ISSN)
This paper has been peer reviewed
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope
Keywords: Equity, Policy, Rental housing,
Summary:
English-language literature on the relationship between home and dwelling has largely focused on the benefits of homeownership and (to a lesser extent) social rental in
facilitating ontological security. Less consideration has been given to the experiences of private tenants. This paper draws on findings of a study on security of occupancy to discuss private renters’ ability to exercise control over their dwellings in Australia vs. Germany. It discusses the limitations of Australian legislation, within its policy, market and cultural context, in enabling private tenants to exercise control.
Title: Weak Tie Relationships in High Density Residential Areas and the Types of Spaces Used to Maintain Them
Published: proceeding of the State of Australian Cities Conference, Gold Coast, 9-11 December 2015
This paper has been peer reviewed
Author/Co-authors: Sian Thompson, Hazel Easthope, Gethin Davison
Keywords: Community, Liveability, Planning, Qualitative research/interviews,
Summary:
The next few decades will see a significant increase in high density development in strategic centres in Australian cities, if current city plans are put into practice. The social consequences of this shift towards higher density are profound and will have a significant impact on Australian cities’ social sustainability. This research provides insights into how people use spaces socially in high density, and which kinds of spaces are likely to facilitate the maintenance of weak ties. These findings can inform the design and planning of socially sustainable high density areas.
Title: Losing Control at Home?
Published: In R. Freestone and E. Liu (eds) Place and Placelessness Revisited, Routledge: New York, 108-119.
This paper has been peer reviewed
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope
Keywords: Home ownership, Liveability, Policy, Rental housing, Sociology,
Summary:
Two significant changes in housing patterns have impacted on the ability of people to become attached to, and identify with, their dwelling because of tensions between these ways of living and dominant cultural representations of the dwelling as home. These are an increase in multi-unit property ownership and long-term private renting. However these phenomena need not necessarily result in people feeling less attached to their dwellings if dominant social norms and constructs of the dwelling as home, and home ownership in particular, are challenged.
Title: Rethinking Housing Solutions: Adaptive Redesign Approaches for Ageing Apartment Buildings
Published: CONFERENCE: FUTURE HOUSING: GLOBAL CITIES AND REGIONAL PROBLEMS Architecture_MPS; Swinburne University of Technology Melbourne: 09—10 June, 2016
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Sandra Loschke
Keywords: Architecture, Building improvements, Design, Development, Redevelopment / termination, Sustainability,
Summary:
A raft of challenges face multi-unit residential housing design, at the forefront of which is a triad of interrelated needs – to make dwellings more economically, socially and environmentally sustainable. To date, this discussion has primarily focused on the provision of high quality new housing. However, the existing housing stock offers rich opportunities for creating more liveable, affordable, and environmentally-friendly solutions, which remain largely underexplored in Australia. In this paper we explore the opportunities of what we term “adaptive redesign” of existing multi-owned housing.
Title: Postproduced: How Adaptive Redesign and Participatory Approaches can Transform Ageing Housing
Published: In G. Cairns, G. Artopoulos and K. Day (eds) From Conflict to Inclusion in Housing: Interaction of communities, residents and activists, London: UCL Press, pp. 71-86.
This paper has been peer reviewed
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Sandra Loschke
Keywords: Architecture, Building improvements, Design, Development, Redevelopment / termination, Sustainability,
Summary:
Cities around the world are struggling to provide adequate housing for growing populations. Concurrently, the significant amount of housing stock built during the post-war housing boom (1950–80) is now ageing and in need of repair. To date, the discussion surrounding both issues – growth and redevelopment – has primarily focused on the provision of new housing, predominantly multiunit apartments for medium-to high-density living. However, much existing housing stock offers rich opportunities for creating more liveable, affordable and sustainable solutions.
Title: Collective responsibility in Strata Apartments
Published: In E. Altmann & M. Gabriel (eds) Multi-Owned Property in the Asia-Pacific Region: Rights, Restrictions and Responsibilities, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Bill Randolph
Keywords: Building management, By-laws/rules/CC&Rs, Disputes/conflict, Governance, Information available to owners and residents, Law, Qualitative research/interviews,
Summary:
All multi-owned developments are, by definition, owned collectively by multiple individual owners. While for some shared ownership can be part of the attraction, for others it is a necessary evil. This chapter focuses on the experience of strata title in NSW, Australia. Based on consultation with strata owners, this chapter highlights the mismatch that can occur between the responsibilities of owners as members of an owners corporation (body corporate) as enshrined in legislation and people’s knowledge and acceptance of those responsibilities, and discusses why this mismatch occurs.
Title: Experiencing Density: The implications of strata titling for urban renewal in Australian cities
Published: In K. Ruming (ed) Urban Regeneration and Australian Cities: Policies, processes and projects of contemporary change, London: Ashgate.
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Bill Randolph
Keywords: Construction, Defects, Design, Development, Disputes/conflict, Governance, Law, Planning, Policy, Redevelopment / termination, Repairs and maintenance,
Summary:
In the 21st century Australian city, urban renewal has become synonymous with higher residential densities. This chapter discusses: the potential for conflict; problems of building design, build quality and defects and ongoing problems with major repairs and maintenance; strata ownership as a formidable barrier to further renewal in areas that otherwise would be prime sites for redevelopment. We draw on a series of interlinked and on-going research projects undertaken by the authors and colleagues over the last decade looking at aspects of the emerging strata title sector in Australia.
Title: Photovoltaics on Apartment Buildings
Funders: Energy Consumers Australia
Author/Co-authors: Mike Roberts, Anna Bruce, Iain MacGill, Jessie Copper, Navid Haghdadi
Keywords: Building improvements, Environment, Sustainability, Utilities / networks,
Summary:
Although Australia has over 2 million solar households, the 10% of Australians who live in apartments are still missing out on cheap, clean energy. This final report from CEEM’s three-year research project includes an assessment of the scale and nature of the solar opportunity and analysis of the costs and benefits of different technical configurations and financial arrangements. It also identifies some of the challenges preventing apartment residents from installing solar PV and suggest some policy reforms that could help overcome the key regulatory barriers.
Title: Opportunities and barriers for photovoltaics on multi-unit residential buildings: reviewing the Australian experience
Published: Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Volume 104, 2019, Pages 95-110, doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2018.12.013
Funders: Energy Consumers Australia, CRC for Low Carbon Living
Author/Co-authors: Mike Roberts, Anna Bruce, Iain MacGill
Keywords: Building improvements, Environment, Sustainability, Utilities / networks,
Summary:
This paper reviews opportunities for, and barriers to, increasing photovoltaic (PV) deployment on apartment buildings. We undertook a review of the academic literature and of specific Australian regulatory arrangements, as well as conducting interviews with relevant stakeholders. Barriers identified include the huge variety amongst apartment building stock, demographic factors and knowledge issues. However, the Australian regulatory context – including governance of apartment buildings, regulation of the energy market, and electricity tariff policies – also impacts on the options available.
Title: Impact of shared battery energy storage systems on photovoltaic self-consumption and electricity bills in apartment buildings
Published: Applied Energy 245, 78-95, DOI 10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.04.001
Funders: Energy Consumers Australia, CRC for Low Carbon Living
Author/Co-authors: Mike Roberts, Anna Bruce, Iain MacGill
Keywords: Building improvements, Environment, Sustainability, Utilities / networks,
Summary:
Apartment buildings offer an opportunity to apply central battery storage and shared solar generation to aggregated apartment and common loads through an embedded network or microgrid. We present a study of energy and financial flows in five Australian apartment buildings with photovoltaics and battery storage using real apartment interval-metered load profiles and simulated solar generation profiles, modelled using an open source tool developed for the purpose.
Title: An Examination of Building Defects in Multi-owned Properties
Funders: PICA Group
Author/Co-authors: Nicole Johnston, Sacha Reid
Keywords: Construction, Defects, Development, Dispute resolution / courts / tribunals, Law, Qualitative research/interviews,
Summary:
The research aims to identify the types of building defects impacting residential buildings, the effects that building defects have on buildings and residents, the impact of the regulatory environment and how defects are managed by the owners corporation. The study identified the prevalence of building defects based on construction systems. Defects were most prevalent in following systems (in order): building fabric and cladding, fire protection, roof and rainwater disposal, waterproofing and structural.
Title: Supporting encounters and casual social ties in large apartment complexes and their surroundings: The role of people, planning, design and management
Published: Thompson, S. (2019). Supporting encounters and casual social ties in large apartment complexes and their surroundings: The role of people, planning, design and management. (Doctoral thesis, UNSW Sydney).
This paper has been peer reviewed
Funders: Australian University Postgraduate Award
Author/Co-authors: Sian Thompson
Keywords: Architecture, Building management, Community, Design, Liveability, Planning, Qualitative research/interviews,
Summary:
Driven by policy, demographic and market factors, increasing numbers of people are living in apartment buildings. Especially where populations are heterogeneous and highly mobile, this presents major challenges for social connection, and consequently for social cohesion and individual wellbeing. There is a need to better understand how positive social connection might be facilitated amongst apartment residents, and what role building design and management can play. This thesis presents case study research into relationships in four large Sydney apartment complexes and their surroundings.
Title: Inequitable density: the place of lower-income and disadvantaged residents in the compact city
Published: Crommelin, L., Troy, L. & Easthope, H. (2017) ‘Inequitable Density: The place of lower-income and disadvantaged residents in the compact city’, State of Australian Cities Conference, Adelaide 27-30 November
This paper has been peer reviewed
Funders: Shelter NSW
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Laura Crommelin, Laurence Troy
Keywords: Development, Environment, Equity, Planning,
Summary:
Compact city policies have become planning orthodoxy over the past three decades. But compact city development takes many forms, and the compact city concept often obscures a diverse range of social, economic and environmental outcomes of urban densification. This paper identifies (i) how high density living is different; and (ii) how the current compact city model makes lower-income and disadvantaged
residents especially vulnerable.
Title: Diversity and participation in private apartment buildings: a review of the literature
Published: Liu, E., Easthope, H. Ho, C. & Buckle, C. (2018) ‘Diversity and participation in private apartment buildings: a review of the literature’, Geographical Research, DOI:10.1111/1745-5871.12282
This paper has been peer reviewed
Author/Co-authors: Edgar Liu, Hazel Easthope, Caitlin Buckle, Christina Ho
Keywords: Community, Culture, Governance, Liveability,
Summary:
Contemporary urban life has been shaped by two momentous shifts over the twentieth century: increasing global mobility and increasing housing density. Arguably, because global mobility is now so pronounced, engagement and civility require that people are respectfully observant of ethno‐diversity. Yet our review of the existing literature on multicultural encounters and participation in multi‐owned private apartment buildings suggests the need for more research on the intersections among global mobility, housing density, and apartment living. This paper begins to bridge this gap.
Title: Equitable Density: The place for lower-income and disadvantaged households in a dense city: Report 1 The Building Scale
Published: Easthope, H., Troy, L. & Crommelin, L (2017) Equitable Density: The place for lower income and disadvantaged people in a dense city – the Building Scale, Sydney: City Futures Research Centre
Funders: Shelter NSW
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Laura Crommelin, Laurence Troy
Keywords: Equity, Governance, Liveability, Planning, Sociology, Sustainability,
Summary:
Higher density multi-unit residential developments, such
as townhouses and apartment buildings (henceforth
‘higher density housing’), have become increasingly
common feature of Australian cities. Shelter NSW engaged the City Futures Research Centre to identify the major challenges confronting lower income and vulnerable residents in higher density housing. In
higher density buildings (‘the building scale’), factors
like proximity between residents, and the need to share
responsibility for building upkeep, create a different
living experience to that of detached housing.
Title: Equitable Density: The place for lower-income and disadvantaged households in a dense city: Report 2 The Neighbourhood Scale
Published: Crommelin, L., Easthope, H. & Tory, L. (2017) Equitable Density: The place for lower income and disadvantaged people in a dense city – the Neighbourhood Scale, Sydney: City Futures Research Centre
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Laura Crommelin, Laurence Troy
Keywords: Equity, Liveability, Planning, Policy, Sustainability,
Summary:
Higher density multi-unit residential developments, such
as townhouses and apartment buildings (henceforth
‘higher density housing’), have become increasingly
common feature of Australian cities. Shelter NSW engaged the City Futures Research Centre to identify the major challenges confronting lower income and vulnerable residents in higher density housing. In areas
with growing quantities of higher density housing (‘the
neighbourhood scale’), this densification can strain
local services and reshape the area’s socio-economic
mix.
Title: Equitable Density: The place for lower-income and disadvantaged households in a dense city: Report 3 Metropolitan Scale
Published: Troy, L., Crommelin, L. & Easthope, H. (2017) Equitable Density: The place for lower income and disadvantaged people in a dense city – the Metropolitan Scale, Sydney: City Futures Research Centre
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Laura Crommelin, Laurence Troy
Keywords: Construction, Development, Equity, Liveability, Planning, Policy, Sustainability,
Summary:
Higher density multi-unit residential developments, such
as townhouses and apartment buildings (henceforth
‘higher density housing’), have become increasingly
common feature of Australian cities. Shelter NSW engaged the City Futures Research Centre to identify the major challenges confronting lower income and vulnerable residents in higher density housing. The compact city policy objective puts pressure on governments to coordinate infrastructure planning and delivery, and to manage the social, economic and environmental effects of changing population patterns and urban form.
Title: As compact city planning rolls on, a look back: lessons from Sydney and Perth
Published: Laura Crommelin, Raymond Bunker, Laurence Troy, Bill Randolph, Hazel Easthope & Simon Pinnegar (2017) As compact city planning rolls on, a look back: lessons from Sydney and Perth, Australian Planner, 54:2, 115-125, DOI: 10.1080/07293682.2017.1319869
This paper has been peer reviewed
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Laura Crommelin, Raymond Bunker, Laurence Troy, Bill Randolph, Simon Pinnegar
Keywords: Development, Economics / markets, Governance, Planning,
Summary:
This paper outlines and compares the policy frameworks designed to encourage higher density urban renewal in Sydney and Perth since the mid-2000s. These policies underpin the ‘compact city’ model that has become urban planning orthodoxy worldwide (OECD 2012). Following an overview of the key policy settings adopted in the two cities (summarised in Appendix 1), the paper offers a high-level commentary on the key similarities and differences, and what these might mean for future compact city planning in Australia.
Title: Managing the Transition to a More Compact City in Australia
Published: Bunker, R., Crommelin, L., Troy, L., Easthope, H., Pinnegar, S. & Randolph, B. (2017) ‘Managing the Transition to a More Compact City in Australia’, International Planning Studies, 22(4), pp. 384-399. DOI: 10.1080/13563475.2017.1298435
This paper has been peer reviewed
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Laura Crommelin, Raymond Bunker, Laurence Troy, Bill Randolph, Simon Pinnegar
Keywords: Comparative research, Developer control, Development, Economics / markets, Equity, Governance, Planning, Policy,
Summary:
This paper explores the transition towards the compact city model in Australia, which has become the orthodoxy of metropolitan planning in the last two decades through an examination of experience in Sydney and Perth. This transition is aligned with neoliberal policies through which private investment and the marketplace have become dominant in driving urban growth and change. Key
insights relate to who has a say in development control, growing executive power, increased government engagement with lobby groups, and growing inequality.
Title: Improving outcomes for apartment residents and neighbourhoods
Published: Easthope, H., Crommelin, L., Troy, L. , Davison, G., Nethercote, M., Foster, S., van den Nouwelant, R., Kleeman, A., Randolph, B., and Horne, R. (2020) Improving outcomes for apartment residents and neighbourhoods, AHURI Final Report No. 329, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute Limited, Melbourne, https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/329, doi:10.18408/ahuri-7120701.
This paper has been peer reviewed
Funders: AHURI
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Laura Crommelin, Laurence Troy, Gethin Davison, Megan Nethercote, Sarah Foster, Ryan van den Nouwelant, Alexandra Kleeman, Bill Randolph, Ralph Horne
Keywords: Architecture, Building management, Community, Design, Development, Liveability, Planning, Qualitative research/interviews,
Summary:
This research investigates the experiences of lower-income apartment residents in relation to planning and infrastructure provision; urban design; building design and management; neighbourhood amenities and facilities; and ongoing place management and community engagement so as to improve wellbeing, community and housing affordability outcomes.
Title: My Place Green Square Community Survey 2020
Published: Easthope, H., Liu, E. & Thompson, S. (2020) My Place Community Survey: Green Square, Sydney: City Futures Research Centre
Funders: City of Sydney
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Edgar Liu, Sian Thompson
Keywords: Community, Development, Liveability, Planning, Policy, Quantitative research/statistics,
Summary:
Urban renewal in brownfield areas is an important component of broader compact city policies in place in Sydney, around Australia, and elsewhere in the world. Local and state governments have an interest in understanding how well urban renewal areas are performing, including the satisfaction of residents and workers with these areas. This report presents the results of a community survey of residents and workers in the Green Square Urban Renewal Area in Sydney, covering social cohesion, social interaction, community development, wellbeing, place attachment, preferences and future plans.
Title: My Place Ashmore Community Survey 2020
Published: Easthope, H., Liu, E. & Thompson, S. (2020) My Place Community Survey: Ashmore, Sydney: City Futures Research Centre
Funders: City of Sydney
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Edgar Liu, Sian Thompson
Keywords: Community, Development, Liveability, Planning, Policy, Quantitative research/statistics,
Summary:
Urban renewal in brownfield areas is an important component of broader compact city policies in place in Sydney, around Australia, and elsewhere in the world. Local and state governments have an interest in understanding how well urban renewal areas are performing, including the satisfaction of residents and workers with these areas. This report presents the results of a community survey of residents and workers in the Ashmore Estate Urban Renewal Area in Sydney, covering social cohesion, social interaction, community development, wellbeing, place attachment, preferences and future plans.
Title: Improving Outcomes for Apartment Residents and Neighbourhoods
Published: Easthope, H., Crommelin, L., Troy, L. , Davison, G., Nethercote, M., Foster, S., van den Nouwelant, R., Kleeman, A., Randolph, B., and Horne, R. (2020) Improving outcomes for apartment residents and neighbourhoods, AHURI Final Report No. 329, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute Limited, Melbourne, https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/329, doi:10.18408/ahuri-7120701.
Funders: Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Laura Crommelin, Laurence Troy, Gethin Davison, Megan Nethercote, Sarah Foster, Ryan van den Nouwelant, Alexandra Kleeman, Bill Randolph, Ralph Horne
Keywords: Architecture, Community, Design, Development, Planning, Policy,
Summary:
This research project:
• describes the characteristics of lower-income apartment residents and the places where they live in Sydney and Melbourne
• identifies important issues with how well apartment developments provide for the wellbeing, community and affordability needs
• considers how these issues can most effectively be addressed in high-density developments at both the building and precinct scale.
It considers planning and infrastructure provision; urban design; building design and management; neighbourhood amenities and facilities; and ongoing place management and community engagement
Title: 2020 Australasian Strata Insights
Published: Easthope, H., Thompson, S. & Sisson, A. (2020) Australasian Strata Insights 2020, Sydney: City Futures Research Centre
Funders: Strata Community Association
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Sian Thompson, Alistair Sisson
Keywords: Comparative research, Economics / markets, Quantitative research/statistics,
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, following from the first Australian National Strata Data Analysis in 2018. 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.
Title: Dissolving Condominium, Private Takings, and the Nature of Property
Published: Harris, D. C., & Gilewicz, N. (2015). Dissolving condominium, private takings, and the nature of property. Rethinking Expropriation Law II: Context, Criteria, and Consequences of Expropriation (The Hague, NL: Eleven, 2015), 263-297.
This paper has been peer reviewed
Author/Co-authors: Douglas Harris, Nicole Gilewicz
Keywords: Comparative research, Dispute resolution / courts / tribunals, Law, Redevelopment / termination,
Summary:
Perhaps the single most important decision in the lifecycle of a condominium is the one to dissolve it. This paper gives an overview of various dissolution rules in various common-law jurisdictions with statutory condominium regimes, describes the rule in British Columbia before turning to several court cases revealing common issues. We develop the argument that the non-consensual dissolution of condominium is a form of private-to-private takings, in order to reveal that the choice between dissolution rules is also a choice between different conceptions of property.
Title: Condominium Government and the Right to Live in the City
Published: Harris, D. C. (2019). Condominium Government and the Right to Live in the City. Canadian Journal of Law & Society/La Revue Canadienne Droit et Société, 34(3), 371-392.
This paper has been peer reviewed
Author/Co-authors: Douglas Harris
Keywords: Dispute resolution / courts / tribunals, Governance, Law,
Summary:
This article considers a conflict between residential-unit owners and a commercial-unit owner within a condominium development in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Drawing from material produced in litigation, the article situates the dispute within its property and urban contexts to argue that condominium government requires attention, not just for its impact on owners or residents, but also because cities must now account for, work alongside, and, in some circumstances, contend with these rapidly proliferating sites of government that are helping to shape who has the right to live in the city.
Title: Does Discrimination Law Apply to Residential Strata Schemes
Published: Sherry, C. (2020). Does Discrimination Law Apply to Residential Strata Schemes. UNSW Law Journal, 43, 307.
This paper has been peer reviewed
Author/Co-authors: Cathy Sherry
Keywords: By-laws/rules/CC&Rs, Disputes/conflict, Governance, Law,
Summary:
Though strata title legislation is over 50 years old, important questions about its intersection with other areas of law remain unanswered, including whether discrimination law applies to residential strata schemes. Bodies corporate wield considerable power over residents’ properties and lives, and the capacity to use that power in discriminatory ways is real. As ever-increasing numbers of Australians choose or are compelled to live in strata schemes, the need to resolve this legal dilemma becomes more pressing.
Title: Parenting and neighbouring in the consolidating city: The emotional geographies of sound in apartments
Published: Emotion Space and Society
This paper has been peer reviewed
Funders: Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship and the University of Wollongong Global Challenges Program Scholarship
Author/Co-authors: Sophie-May Kerr, Chris Gibson, Natascha Klocker
Keywords: Children, Design, Disputes/conflict, Liveability, Qualitative research/interviews,
Summary:
Rapid urban population growth has prompted a shift towards higher-density dwellings. Yet little is known about the everyday emotional experiences of apartment residents. This paper draws on insights gathered from families, with children, living in apartments in Sydney, Australia. These families’ experiences of high-density living reveal how the materiality of sound and built form interact with cultural norms to shape how apartment spaces are understood and inhabited.
Title: Embedded Property
Published: Douglas C Harris, “Embedded Property” in Randy K Lippert & Stefan Treffers, eds, Condominium Governance and Law: Global Urban Perspectives (Abingdon: Routledge, 2021) 29.
Author/Co-authors: Douglas Harris
Keywords: Disputes/conflict, Governance, Home ownership, Law, Redevelopment / termination,
Summary:
This paper offers the concept of embedded property as a way of thinking about and understanding condominium property, and of explaining how ownership of land within condominium is changing the character of ownership. In doing so, it describes property within condominium as spatially embedded, politically embedded, and temporally embedded, and then demonstrates how these different modes by which condominium embeds property are forcing courts and legislatures to reconsider long-accepted incidents of land ownership.
Title: Creating better shared spaces in apartment complexes and their local areas
Published: Cities People Love
This paper has been peer reviewed
Author/Co-authors: Sian Thompson
Keywords: Architecture, Building management, Community, Design, Development, Governance, Liveability, Planning, Public/private, Qualitative research/interviews, Quantitative research/statistics,
Summary:
This research, undertaken in 2019, investigated the social aspect of living in large apartment complexes, drawing on case studies in Sydney and asking what ‘good outcomes’ look like. To understand how we can improve spaces within and around apartment complexes to better support social connection and encourage use, two overarching questions were asked: what types of social connections residents want locally, and how the built environment and management can support this.
Title: A data-driven holistic understanding of strata insurance in Australia and New Zealand
Published: Johnston, N., Lee, A., Mishra, S., Powell, K., Bowler- Smith, M and Zutshi, A. (2021) A data-driven holistic understanding of strata insurance in Australia and New Zealand. Deakin University
Author/Co-authors: Nicole Johnston
Keywords: Building management, Financial management, Insurance, Law,
Summary:
This report examines the complexities of strata insurance and the role of strata managers in this process. It highlights increased costs of strata insurance over the period 2016-2020 and the significant imposition of state and federal taxes. The legal complexities of strata and obligations imposed on owners corporations and bodies corporate to insure are outlined. The report recommends changes including a more transparent disclosure regime so that consumers are more informed about insurance processes and the fees imposed by management companies and others in the strata insurance supply chain.
Title: Condominium: A Transformative Innovation in Property and Local Government
Published: Douglas C Harris, “Condominium: A Transformative Innovation in Property and Local Government” in Nicole Graham, Margaret Davies, & Lee Godden, eds, The Routledge Handbook of Property, Law, and Society (Abingdon and New York: Routledge, 2022) 113.
Author/Co-authors: Douglas Harris
Keywords: Governance, Home ownership, Law,
Summary:
As one form of common interest community, condominium packages private property with a co-ownership interest in common property and rights to participate in the governing organisation. A statutory innovation, the condominium form has been adopted in jurisdictions around the world and has quickly become the dominant form of land ownership for new-build housing in many cities. As an increasingly prominent feature of urban real estate, condominium is changing the nature of ownership and of local government, and is one of the defining institutions of our time.
Title: Influences on Apartment Design: A History of the Spatial Layout of Apartment Buildings in Sydney and Implications for the Future
Author/Co-authors: Philip Oldfield, Hazel Easthope, Hyungmo Yang
Keywords: Architecture, Design, Environment, Planning, Sustainability,
Summary:
This paper traces the history of apartment design with an emphasis on spatial layout. It charts the events that have influenced apartment design in Sydney, Australia and provides a framework for understanding how changes in society, the economy, regulations, and architectural paradigms have influenced apartment layouts over time. Through a review of historical and contemporary apartment plan drawings in Sydney, we identify four chronologically distinct eras.
Title: Planning for Lower‐Income Households in Privately Developed High‐Density Neighbourhoods in Sydney, Australia
Published: Easthope, H., Crommelin, L., Kerr, S.M., Troy, L., van den Nouwelant, R. and Davison, G., 2022. Planning for Lower-Income Households in Privately Developed High-Density Neighbourhoods in Sydney, Australia. Urban Planning, 7(4), pp.213-228.
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Laura Crommelin, Sophie-May Kerr, Laurence Troy, Ryan van den Nouwelant, Gethin Davison
Keywords: Liveability, Planning, Policy, Qualitative research/interviews,
Summary:
In Australia, private high‐density housing is typically marketed as the domain of middle‐ and higher‐income residents. In practice, it accommodates many lower‐income households. This has implications for public infrastructure planning in high‐density neighbourhoods where private property ownership dominates. Examining two case-studies with markedly different day-to-day experiences, this article argues that coordinated and collaborative planning processes are key to ensuring that the needs of lower‐income households are met in privately developed apartment neighbourhoods.
Title: Cracks in the Compact City: Tackling defects in multi-unit strata housing
Published: Crommelin, L., Thompson, S., Easthope, H., Loosemore, M., Yang, H., Buckle, C. and Randolph, B., 2021. Cracks in the Compact City: tackling defects in multi-unit strata housing.
Author/Co-authors: Laura Crommelin, Sian Thompson, Hazel Easthope, Martin Loosemore, Hyungmo Yang, Caitlin Buckle, Bill Randolph
Keywords: Defects, Development, Information available to owners and residents, Insurance,
Summary:
The report addresses the serious and growing problem of building defects in the trillion dollar multi-unit housing sector. The research investigates the prevalence of building defects, why they occur and how multi-unit housing quality can be improved.
The findings are intended to inform changes to planning and development policy and regulation, leading to improved building quality and safety, lower costs and stress for owners, more resilient urban communities, and better urban planning outcomes.
Title: Adoption of Renewable Energy Systems in common properties of multi-owned buildings: Introduction of ‘Energy Entitlement’
Published: Energy Policy
This paper has been peer reviewed
Author/Co-authors: Aravind Poshnath, Dr Behzad Rismanchi, Prof. Abbas Rajabifard
Keywords: By-laws/rules/CC&Rs, Community, Home ownership, Policy, Sustainability,
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.
Title: The problem of aging housing: A co- and re-design approach
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.
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Sandra Karina Löschke
Keywords: Aged housing, Architecture, Building improvements,
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?
Title: Investigating passive fire protection defects in residential buildings
Funders: Victorian Building Authority; Plus Systems
Author/Co-authors: Nicole Johnston, Michael Teys
Keywords: Construction, Defects, Information available to owners and residents, Repairs and maintenance,
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.
Title: Investigating Building Product Selection and Information Transparency
Funders: Alspec
Author/Co-authors: Nicole Johnston, Michael Teys
Keywords: Building improvements, Construction, Qualitative research/interviews,
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.
Title: Multi-Unit Developments & Owners’ Management Companies: A Compilation of Writing from The Housing Agency
Published: Various
Author/Co-authors: David Rouse, David Rouse
Keywords: Building management, Financial management, Governance, Law, Liveability, Sustainability,
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.
Title: Condominium to the Country: The Sprawl of Ownership within Private Local Government in British Columbia
Published: Law & Social inquiry
Author/Co-authors: Douglas Harris
Keywords: Gated community/Master-planned Estate, Governance, Law, Public/private,
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.
Title: Impacts of building defects on the health and wellbeing of apartment residents: a scoping review
Published: Building Research and Information
Funders: Strata Community Insurance
Author/Co-authors: Nicole Johnston, Fiona Andrews, Richard Tucker, Anahita Sal Moslehian
Keywords: Building improvements, Construction, Defects, Qualitative research/interviews,
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.
Title: The practice and roles of condominium housing for tackling urban problems in the case of Gondar city, Ethiopia
Published: Heliyon
This paper has been peer reviewed
Author/Co-authors: Bantayehu Workineh
Keywords: Development, Equity, Home ownership,
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.
Title: The regulation of families with children in apartments
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
Author/Co-authors: Sophie-May Kerr, Hazel Easthope, Cathy Sherry
Keywords: Building management, By-laws/rules/CC&Rs, Children, Disputes/conflict, Governance, Liveability, Qualitative research/interviews,
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.
Title: Australasian Strata Insights 2022
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Danielle Hynes, Yi Lu, Reg Wade
Keywords: Building management, Development, Economics / markets,
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.
Title: My Place Green Square Community Survey 2023
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Edgar Liu, Sophie-May Kerr, Yunzheng Zhang
Keywords: Community, Development, Liveability, Planning, Policy,
Summary:
Urban renewal in brownfield areas is an important component of broader compact city policies in place in Sydney, around Australia, and elsewhere in the world. Local and state governments have an interest in understanding how well urban renewal areas are performing, including the satisfaction of residents and workers with these areas. This report presents the results of the 2023 community survey of residents and workers in the Green Square Urban Renewal Area in Sydney, covering social cohesion, social interaction, community development, wellbeing, place attachment, preferences and future plans.
Title: My Place Ashmore Community Survey 2023
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Edgar Liu, Sophie-May Kerr, Yunzheng Zhang
Keywords: Community, Development, Liveability, Planning, Policy,
Summary:
Urban renewal in brownfield areas is an important component of broader compact city policies in Sydney, around Australia, and elsewhere in the world. Local and state governments have an interest in understanding how well urban renewal areas are performing, including the satisfaction of residents and workers with these areas. This report presents the results of the 2023 community survey of residents and workers in the Ashmore Estate Urban Renewal Area in Sydney, covering social cohesion, social interaction, community development, wellbeing, place attachment, preferences and future plans.
Title: Delivering Sustainable Apartment Housing: New build and retrofit
Published: Easthope, H., Palmer, J, Sharam, A., Nethercote, M., Pignatta, G. & Crommelin, C. (2023) Delivering Sustainable Apartment Housing: New build and retrofit, AHURI Final Report no. 400, Melbourne: AHURI
This paper has been peer reviewed
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Jasmine Palmer, Andrea Sharam, Megan Nethercote, Gloria Pignatta, Laura Crommelin
Keywords: Building improvements, Construction, Environment, Retrofit,
Summary:
This research investigates how Australia can supply new and retrofit older apartments so that they are sustainable, that is they are comfortable; deliver cost reductions for householders while minimising consumption and waste; and maximise energy efficiencies and energy management, both in their construction and throughout their lifecycle (including through the adoption of renewable energy technologies).
Title: Redeveloping the Compact City: The challenges of strata collective sales
Published: Easthope, H., Crommelin, L., Gillon, C., Pinnegar, S., Ruming, K., Liu, S. (2023) Redeveloping the Compact City: The challenges of strata collective sales, Journal of Property, Planning and Environmental Law, https://doi.org/10.1108/JPPEL-04-2023-0016
This paper has been peer reviewed
Author/Co-authors: Hazel Easthope, Laura Crommelin, Charlie Gillon, Simon Pinnegar, Kristian Ruming, Sha Liu
Keywords: Redevelopment / termination,
Summary:
High-density development requires large land parcels, but fragmented land ownership can impede redevelopment. While earlier compact city development in Sydney occurred on large-scale brownfield sites, redeveloping and re-amalgamating older strata-titled properties is now integral to
further densification. The purpose of this study is to examine collective sales activity in one Sydney suburb where multiple strata-titled redevelopments and re-amalgamations have been attempted. We explore how owners navigate the process of selling collectively.
Title: Including the majority: Examining the local social interactions of renters in four case study condominiums in Sydney
Published: Thompson, S., Easthope, H. & Davison, G. (2022) ‘Including the majority: Examining the local social interactions of renters in four case study condominiums in Sydney’, Journal of Urban Affairs, 46(1), pp. 119-138 https://doi.org/10.1080/07352166.2022.2045869
Author/Co-authors: Sian Thompson, Hazel Easthope, Gethin Davison
Keywords: Building management, Community, Rental housing,
Summary:
There is evidence that many apartment residents find it challenging to form and maintain local social connections, especially those renting their home. This can negatively impact physical and mental health, and have implications for the management of apartment complexes and local area social sustainability. In this paper, we draw on interviews with renters of condominium complexes in Sydney, Australia, to investigate their local social interactions. While many renters desire greater local connection, their opportunities and motivations are limited.
Title: Suburban densification: unpacking the misalignment between resident demand and investor-driven supply of multi-unit housing in Sydney, Australia
Published: Nicole Cook, Shanaka Herath & Sophie-May Kerr (2023) Suburban densification: unpacking the misalignment between resident demand and investor-driven supply of multi-unit housing in Sydney, Australia, Australian Planner, 59:1, 26-38, DOI: 10.1080/07293682.2023.2197604
Author/Co-authors: Sophie-May Kerr, Nicole Cook, Shanaka Herath
Keywords: Children, Development, Economics / markets, Planning, Qualitative research/interviews, Quantitative research/statistics,
Summary:
This paper develops a clearer understanding of consumer demand and market supply of multi-unit dwellings in suburban town centres. The paper combines qualitative analysis of the housing preferences of a group of (largely) migrant women with children living in apartments in the suburban town centre of Liverpool, Sydney, Australia, with quantitative analysis of household type, apartment size and dwelling approvals. We show that market-led supply creates a mismatch between housing need and type. We conclude that calibrating the share of larger apartments will improve housing outcomes.
Title: Mandatory Inspection Regulations for Ageing Buildings: An Analysis of International Trends
Funders: Australian College of Strata Lawyers (ACSL)
Author/Co-authors: Nicole Johnston
Keywords: Building management, Construction, Defects, Repairs and maintenance,
Summary:
As Australian strata properties grapple with both systemic building defects and concerns around the lack of building repair and maintenance, it is timely to investigate, evaluate and discuss whether similar reforms should be introduced in Australia. This research project is an international cross-jurisdictional analysis of the current regulations that require strata-type buildings to be inspected during the lifecycle (post any initial defect inspection).
Title: The evolution of the anticommons : Exploring the implications of mixed-use developments on urban renewal by collective sales.
Published: Michael Teys, The evolution of the anticommons : Exploring the implications of mixed-use developments on urban renewal by collective sales (MPhil Thesis, University of New South Wales , 2024).
Funders: Australian Research Council
Author/Co-authors: Michael Teys
Keywords: Building improvements, Building management, Developer control, Development, Governance, Redevelopment / termination,
Summary:
The thesis identifies mixed-use developments, and specifically mixed -use developments that contain at least one owners corporation (part strata), as anticommons property. Anticommons property is a type of property regime where the initial endowments are so disaggregated that ultimately, they risk the wasteful underuse of resources (Heller 1998). Underuse in this thesis is the inability to reassemble the fragmented property rights for a collective sale and urban renewal. Without government intervention to assist with the reassembly of these properties , they risk becoming ruins.
Title: THE IMPACT OF SHORT-TERM RENTAL REGULATIONS ON COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS IN THE CHICAGO AREA
Published: Wang, Y. (2023) The Impact of Short-term Rental Regulations on Community Associations in the Chicago Area, Virginia: Foundation for Community Association Research
Funders: Byron Hanke Fellowship, Foundation for Community Association Research
Author/Co-authors: Yici (Angela) Wang
Keywords: Disputes/conflict, Economics / markets, Governance, Planning,
Summary:
Short-term rentals have gained popularity in the US and are still growing. Homeowners reacted differently to the surge of short-term rentals. Some were thrilled about this opportunity to earn extra cash, while the rest complained about the noise and property damage. This report investigates the current approaches of community associations in Illinois in dealing with STRs. Through surveying residents and managers of CAs, the research can help community associations and local governments design policies with the right degree of regulation upon STRs and maximize the well-being of the residents.
Title: DETERMINING THE VALUE OF HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATIONS USING STATISTICAL METHODS
Published: Sanders, IT. (2022) Determining the Value of Homeowners Associations Using Statistical Methods, Georgia: Foundation for Community Association Research
Funders: Byron Hanke Fellowship, Foundation for Community Association Research
Author/Co-authors: Isabella T Sanders
Keywords: Building management, Economics / markets, Quantitative research/statistics,
Summary:
Residential Community Associations charge monthly or yearly fees to provide services and regulation within residential neighborhoods. In this study, we examine whether ownership (and mandatory membership in such Associations) increase sale price and or market value of a home. We build a novel dataset consisting of both properties with HOA membership and without HOA membership within the suburbs of the Atlanta Georgia. Through the use of linear regression and hypothesis testing we find that in almost all cases, membership in an HOA does increase property sale price and market value.
Title: PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE: ANALYSING WILDFIRE AND COMMUNITY RESILIENCE IN RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Published: Ho, CK. (2022) Preparing for the Future: Analysing Wildfire and Community Resilience in Riverside County, California: Foundation for Community Association Research
Funders: Byron Hanke Fellowship, Foundation for Community Association Research
Author/Co-authors: Connie K Ho
Keywords: Community, Environment, Policy, Sustainability,
Summary:
This report covers the current state of community resilience in Riverside County related to the changing climate. It highlights possible policy alternatives for the local community, including homeowners, nonprofits, and governmental organizations, to pursue. It focuses on the increase of wildfires in the Western United States due to climate change. It describes the background of the policy issue and includes the problem statement.
Title: COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT (CDD) PROLIFERATION, GOVERNANCE, AND FINANCIAL CONDITION: A REVIEW AND QUALITATIVE STUDY OF HOA STAKEHOLDERS
Published: Henley, TN. (2021) Community Development District (CDD) Proliferation, Governance, and Financial Condition: A Review and Qualitative Study of HOA Stakeholders, Florida: Foundation for Community Association Research
Funders: Byron Hanke Fellowship, Foundation for Community Association Research
Author/Co-authors: Terry N Henley
Keywords: Economics / markets, Governance, Policy,
Summary:
The purpose of this research on Community development districts (CDDs) and community or home owners associations is to investigate Florida’s experience with and homeowners’ perceptions of CDDs with a financial emergency history. This research explores whether CDD distress has spilled over onto associations and how homeowners shoulder the burden of triple-taxation in the context of governmental overlap, duplication of services, and efficiency or effectiveness issues that are inherent problems with special district that share boundaries with city and county governments.
Title: COLORADO SPECIAL DISTRICTS AND COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS
Published: Serra, S. (2019) Colorado Special Districts and Community Associations, Colorado: Foundation for Community Association Research
Funders: Byron Hanke Fellowship, Foundation for Community Association Research
Author/Co-authors: Stephanie Serra
Keywords: Governance, Planning, Public/private,
Summary:
Upon entering the 2000’s, Colorado municipalities generally phased out of directly building new communities in unincorporated lands or infill due to the challenges they faced in creating and sustaining revenue sources to fund such projects. This report analyzes the relationship between community associations and certain state and local government activities that impact associations, specifically how Special Districts in Colorado are used in development planning, funding, and ongoing management of existing and new association developments.
Title: THE SHARING EQUITY PROJECT: BRINGING COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING ORGANIZATIONS TOGETHER
Published: Valencia, L. (2016) The Sharing Equity Project: Bringing Community Associations and Affordable Housing Organizations Together, California: Foundation for Community Association Research
Funders: Byron Hanke Fellowship, Foundation for Community Association Research
Author/Co-authors: Leslie Valencia
Keywords: Governance, Planning, Policy,
Summary:
The Sharing Equity Project seeks to get an understanding of the national landscape of community associations that currently serve, or that could potentially serve, as alternative forms of affordable housing. This project aims to fill the gap in both data and understanding of the different homeownership models that are currently being used by, or that could potentially be incorporated into, community association development through a National Survey of Existing Community Associations using various Affordable Housing Models, brief review of the literature and an Interactive Map.
Title: ENGAGING APARTMENT RESIDENTS IN COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS: A STUDY IN RESTON, VIRGINIA
Published: Kerstetter, K. (2012) Engaging Apartment Residents in Community Associations: A Study in Reston, Virginia: Foundation for Community Association Research
Funders: Byron Hanke Fellowship, Foundation for Community Association Research
Author/Co-authors: Katie Kerstetter
Keywords: Governance, Information available to owners and residents, Psychology,
Summary:
In the spirit of encouraging the development of vibrant and inclusive communities, this report examines how to include a subset of renters (i.e. apartment residents) more fully in community association activities. This report focuses on Reston Association, one of the largest community associations in the U.S. Through interviews with Association with apartment staff and a community survey of residents, this report explores the opportunities available to members, the extent to which residents are involved in community activities, and what challenges these residents face to greater participation.
Title: MANAGING CONFLICT IN COMMUNITY ASSOCIATIONS: THE WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, AND WHY
Published: Feldscher, CL. (2011) Managing Conflict in Community Associations: The Who, What, Where, When, and Why, Massachusetts: Foundation for Community Association Research
Funders: Byron Hanke Fellowship, Foundation for Community Association Research
Author/Co-authors: Courtney L Feldscher
Keywords: Building management, Disputes/conflict, Governance,
Summary:
This paper intends to address contradictory discourses on homeowners’ associations by first addressing the role of conflict in organizations and then addressing the role of conflict in community associations. The first part of the paper will contextualize the role of conflict in organizational life. The second part will report the preliminary findings of an original survey measuring the scope and scale of conflict in Greater-Boston area community associations.
Title: NEIGHBORHOOD GOVERNMENTS AND THEIR ROLE IN PROPERTY VALUES
Published: Scheller, DS. (2010) Neighborhood Governments and their Role in Property Values, Florida: Foundation for Community Association Research
Funders: Byron Hanke Fellowship, Foundation for Community Association Research
Author/Co-authors: Daniel Scheller
Keywords: Building management, Economics / markets, Quantitative research/statistics,
Summary:
Recent research has only examined the effects of homeowner associations (HOAs) on house prices, and fails to account for the endogenous relationship between property values and form of governance. In this paper, I use a form of instrumental variable regression to study the effects of homeowner and neighborhood associations on property values. I find that HOAs increase property values, while neighborhood associations exert no influence on property values.
Title: RECOVERING COMMUNITIES: RESIDENT LED ALTERNATIVES TO CONTEMPORARY TRENDS IN PUBLIC HOUSING REDEVELOPMENT
Published: Simpson, S. (2008) Recovering Communities: Resident Led Alternatives to Contemporary Trends in Public Housing Redevelopment, Iowa: Foundation for Community Association Research
Funders: Byron Hanke Fellowship, Foundation for Community Association Research
Author/Co-authors: Sheryl-Ann Simpson
Keywords: Culture, Equity, Liveability,
Summary:
This thesis examines four resident led initiatives developing markedly different analysis, and strategies for addressing the challenges of public housing. The key findings of this thesis are that while these initiatives differ, they all address key ideas missing from professionally led development, including changes in the institutions governing public housing, a focus on equity and justice, and more nuanced spatial thinking. They are also forging equal partnerships with outside organizations.
Title: HOMEOWNER ASSOCIATION BOARDS OF DIRECTORS’ LEADERSHIP COMPETENCIES IN FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA
Published: Bennett, AM. (2008) Homeowner Association Boards of Directors’ Leadership Competencies in Fairfax, Virginia: Foundation for Community Association Research
Funders: Byron Hanke Fellowship, Foundation for Community Association Research
Author/Co-authors: Anthony M Bennett
Keywords: Building management, Disputes/conflict, Governance,
Summary:
The purpose of this qualitative, four-round modified online Delphi technique study was to identify leadership competencies necessary for homeowner association board leadership and to develop a profile of competencies that may contribute to the development of a model of effectiveness. The research focused on homeowner associations in Fairfax County, Virginia. The findings contain the panel’s most preferred homeowner association board leadership competencies and the top 10 factors that might contribute to a model of homeowner association board of director effectiveness.
Title: ISO 19650.3 AND THE DIGITISATION OF OPERATIONS IN STRATA-TITLED RESIDENTIAL APARTMENT DEVELOPMENTS
Published: Tanfield, K, Heywood, C, Warren-Myers, G, Kalantari, M & Shojaei, D. (2023) ISO 19650.3 and the Digitisation of Operations in Strata-Titled Residential Apartment Developments: IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, vol. 1176, CIB W070 Conference on Facility Management and Maintenance
Funders: Building 4.0 CRC
Author/Co-authors: Karen Tanfield, Chris Heywood, Georgia Warren-Myers, Mohsen Kalantari, Davood Shojaei
Keywords: Construction, Design, Development,
Summary:
The purpose of this paper is to identify shortcomings of the application of ISO 19650.3: Organisation and digitisation of information about buildings and civil engineering works including building information modelling (BIM) Information management using building information modelling Part 3: Operational phase of the assets during the design, documentation, and construction of strata-titled residential developments.