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Topic
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Subject: Urgent: Strata Chaos – Manager Assumes Roles, AGM Agenda Excludes Critical Management Contract
Dear FlatChat Community,
I am writing as the sole remaining member of a collapsed strata committee, seeking urgent advice on an escalating governance crisis. Our situation has become untenable, and I am deeply concerned about the legality of the strata manager’s recent actions. I will outline the sequence of events factually.
1. The Trigger & Committee Breakdown
· Our strata management agency gave five months’ notice of non-renewal, effective in April.
· The (now former) Secretary unilaterally called for new management proposals without committee discussion.
· As Treasurer, I requested a committee meeting, which the Secretary refused to convene.
· I rallied the (now former) Chairman to convene a meeting with an agenda containing formal motions to address the management contract.
· The Secretary and another owner formally rejected these motions in writing to the strata manager.
· A meeting was held between only the Chairman and myself. No motions were carried; issues were only discussed. Minutes were distributed.
· Immediately after, both the Secretary and the Chairman resigned in quick succession, leaving me as the only committee member.
2. The Manager’s Actions & Current Impasse
· The strata manager has now claimed the roles of both Strata Secretary and Chairman, citing authority under the management agreement (though this clause is not explicit).
· The manager has called an Annual General Meeting (AGM) in three weeks’ time, stating it is required as our financial year ends on 31 January even though previous AGMs were convene in March.
· Critically, the manager has stated that the AGM agenda will NOT include any discussion or motion about appointing a new strata management agency, despite the current agency’s contract ending on 15 April.
· When I requested to call an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) to elect a new committee, the manager informed me in writing that I, as the sole committee member, cannot do so.
· My plea to the former Chairman to help gather signatures from 25% of owners to force an EGM has gone unanswered.
3. My Core Questions for the Experts
Given this cascade of events, my urgent questions are:
1. Legality of Manager’s Role Assumption: Can a strata manager legitimately assume the executive committee roles of Secretary and Chairman following a committee collapse, or must these roles be filled by elected owner(s)?
2. AGM Agenda Control: Can the manager legitimately exclude a critical item like the appointment of a new managing agent from the AGM agenda, especially when the current contract is imminently expiring? Does this constitute a failure to act in the owners’ corporation’s best interest?
3. Calling an EGM: As the sole remaining committee member, what is my true authority? If the manager refuses to convene an EGM, what are the definitive steps to compel one?
4. Immediate Next Steps: What is the most critical action I should take right now to restore proper governance and ensure we can secure a new manager before 15 April?
I am prepared to share the relevant clauses of our management agreement and correspondence (with personal details redacted) if helpful. Any guidance from professionals, lawyers, or those who have faced similar upheaval would be invaluable.
Thank you for your time and this essential service.
Yours sincerely,
A Stranded Treasurer.
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Replies
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The usual strata magement agreement allows for the strata manager to perform many of the functions of the committee. At the AGM there should be appointment of a new committee. Otherwise it is off to NCAT.
Also, I think the strata manager may be reluctant to table the question of the appointment of a replacement as this could be seen as a conflict of interest until a new committee is in place to assess applicants.
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The current strata manager is not renewing their management contract, and there is apparently conflict among the owners and among the strata committee members. This situation is likely to make it hard to recruit another strata manager.
But the strata manager appears to be doing the right thing, and if your building has a standard management contract with him, then it is likely that manager is legally performing their proper duties.
Keep in mind that your Owners Corporation has to appoint a new strata manager (if they want to do so) at a general meeting. In your situation, the Annual General Meeting is able to be held, and so that is a sensible time to do so (a general meeting can be an extraordinary or an Annual general meeting – they are the same kind of meeting, but at an AGM there are some specified items that have to be included on the Agenda). It makes sense to only hold one general meeting, as the strata manager charges the OC for holding a meeting.
There can be an agenda item to engage a strata management company at a general meeting. But it seems the current manager does not want to take this on any more, and so the owners will need to get (ideally) 3 proposals from other strata managers to consider. Usually this is done by the strata committee, which is currently not functioning (without the necessary quorum, now that you are the only member, so the OC cannot make any decisions – tho the Secretary can schedule meeting, but that is not the purview of a Treasurer), so electing a new strata committee, which must be done at an AGM, is a priority.
It appears that the proper steps are being taken. If you want to speed things up, you (and other owners) could arrange to get 3 proposals from strata management companies, which can be tabled, and considered, at the strata committee meeting that is normally held right after the AGM, with the new committee members. But another general meeting will have to be held, arranged by a functioning strata committee, to appoint the strata manager, although that can be a “paper” meeting, utilising emails or ZOOM, to minimise costs.