Jeff said:
Hi,
I'm new to this forum and I need some help. I am one of 3 on the EC and we are allowed to spend upto $1,500 on repairs to common property without the approval of the OC. Does the EC have to have a meeting (which the rules state takes a minimum of 3 days) before we can go ahead with an urgent repair to common property? What would happen if the repairs are over our limit (say $3000) Do we have to convene an EGM before we go ahead with the repairs? I am concerned that our hands are tied while all this time goes by.
Jeff
We had a situation where urgent work was required. There was enough money in the bank and if we did not do the work and a certain wall collapsed we might have been responsible for significant damage to private property or even killing someone. We (the EC) decided to get on with it. If, in the fullness of time, it turned out that we did not do it quite right, it could be fixed. Once work started and we were getting closer to a general meeting a couple of owners took exception to the work being done at OC expense. We got legal advice with a series of questions such as “What liability might the OC have been exposed to if we had not acted immediately on learning of a dangerous situation?”, and so on. The answers were very sobering! If your work is required on safety grounds I would get on with it to avoid serious liabilities. If it would save the OC some significant money to do some repairs now before it gets worse, but it is not a safety issue, I would make sure that the potential savings were clearly documented if it is not obvious and still get on with it. If neither of these apply, why not wait for the approval? Why does the EC have that money limit? Is that because you only have a maintenance budget of that amount approved at the previous AGM? I think the EC would have some latitude to go a bit over budget on some items so long as it is not grossly different from what was budgeted. I am a treasurer and some budget items will always be less predictable than others. I don't worry too much if a few items are a bit over or under if the expenses are justifiable, we have plenty in the bank in reserve and overall the budget is not grossly out.