Unfortunately retrospective motions are an acceptable practice. Apparently they occur quite often as a way to cure a past defect / irregularity or a procedural failure.
Not getting permission / a special by-law before starting the work is a type of procedural failure on the owners part.
What is interesting in your scenario is what happens if their motions fail; then the defect is not cured.
Can you bring the approval motions forward to an EGM rather than wait for the AGM? – and ask they (the renovators) pay for the meeting. An EGM can be held in a mater of weeks if the EC really wants one.
Without knowing what your by-law says, would you consider
- seeking an interim order to have the work stopped
- trying to have the EC / manager send a notice to comply to the existing by-law stating all work must stop until approvals are determined by the OC. This way if they continue the OC can have a go at having the owners fined for failure to comply with the notice if they continue.
I personally think that it is rubbish that some owners just plough forward knowing they are not doing things the right way an then expect the whole OC to roll over and approve whatever they did via a retrospective motion.
I can feel the frustration in your post and the disappointment you have in the “management” of your SP. What is going on is just plain wrong yet the system makes it such an easy thing to get away with – strata has its downsides.