There’s a particular kind of frustration that comes from paying for something you don’t understand. Not outrage, just a slow, grinding sense that someone somewhere is relying on your inertia.

That’s the feeling a lot of apartment owners seem to be having right now, judging by the conversations doing the rounds online. Someone put up a post about their strata levies climbing 30% since COVID, with nothing obvious to show for it except a slightly better gardener. They’d gone through the financials, found line items like “professional fees” and “legal consultation” with no supporting detail, asked their manager for clarification, and got back “industry standard reporting” as an answer. Which is, let’s be honest, a very polished way of saying nothing.