Serviced apartment reprieve

Owner’s corporations at the Nolan and Conder towers in NewQuay have failed in a poll to ban serviced apartments from their buildings.

The OCs failed to attract enough “yes” votes to a support a motion to ban stays of less than a month.

And at Watergate in Batman’s Hill, the City of Melbourne has granted more time to serviced apartment owners it has challenged to show cause why they should not have their apartments upgraded to hotel standards.

A council spokesperson said the deadline for responses had now been extended to July 25.

Nolan owners’ corporation chairperson Michele Anderson was coy on actual specific numbers from the poll.

She said her committee authorised the following statement: “Insufficient valid votes were received to achieve the required 50 per cent in favour or 25 per cent against, meaning that the proposed rule change does not go ahead.  35 per cent of owners did not vote and a number of the votes received were invalid.”

At Conder, the figures are understood to be 17.4 per cent of lot liability in the affirmative, with the no vote attracting 15.8 per cent.  The other two thirds either did not vote or cast informal votes.

Conder owners’ corporation chairperson Walter Stragan declined to say whether the OC would take the matter further.