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Topic
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Can anyone throw light on whether owners have the right to contact details of Exec Committee members representing them, or not?
Background. There is an issue on the books at the moment re my unit. I wanted to contact my Exec Committee re this. I asked Strata manager for the contact details (preferably email) of the Exec members.
I’m new to the block, I don’t live there and I don’t even live in the city so I don’t see the Exec members in the normal daily run of the mill way.
the Strata manager said contact details are not available due to privacy and anything I want to send to the Exec has to go through the Strata manager.
I wanted to send an email to them directly as fellow owners. I can understand the privacy thing but I thought owners could contact the Exec members directly since the Exec represents the owners – a friend who is on the Exec of another block told me this. any know what’s the case?
thanks
giri
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Replies
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Hi Girl and JimmyT.
Of course you should be able to contact your Executive Committee members by email. The ‘privacy issue’ mentioned by your Strata Manager is a ruse. He’s just trying to protect his turf.
I suspect your problem is the same as ours where the the situation is very similar. We are not supposed to contact individual members of the committee, just the Strata Manager. But the Strata Manager always says he cannot do anything without the commttee’s say so. The result is nothing much gets done and if it does it’s painfully SLOW.
So… does the SM always give the committee ALL the information? I would guess not, just what suits him. Does he put his own spin on it? Of course he does. Does he act fast and oversee things. No.
Who oversees things? Well the committee is supposed to; but do they? No. It’s like a Joseph Heller’s Catch 22.
Will you be marked as a rabble rouser by the SM for your actions? Yep. Will he convey this sentiment to the committee. Yep, so do be careful.
JimmyT, in reference to your new Executive Committee Corner, the sort of Executive Committee members who SHOULD be reading it, won’t be. They’ll just be deferring everything to Strata Managers, not many of whom have the best interests of the strata at to-of-mind. It is a big problem.
Giri – Juan is absolutely correct, and as you don’t reside near your Strata Manager may I suggest as you’re a new Owner, at the time of your purchase your Solicitor / Conveyancer would have obtained a Certificate under S109 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 1996 (in NSW), and that would include the names and contact details of all (then) Executive Committee Members.
If you don’t have that Certificate, your Solicitor / Conveyancer would have a copy on file.
Alternatively, bite the bullet and write to the Secretary via your Strata Manager OR perhaps place that letter in an envelope marked “Personal – Secretary SP *****”, and send that by mail in another envelope to the Strata Manager together with a note requesting he/she to pass it on.
Good luck!!
Alternatively, you could try posting a letter adressed to the EC c/o the address Body Corporate letter box, if the buiding has one. The Secretary of the EC or a member has access to this not the Strata Manager.
Cheers CBF