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Also is it possible to complain about a committee member who breached our bylaws? How?
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You could put up a motion to a general meeting or committee meeting that the committee or strata manager be instructed to pursue any owner for specific breaches of by-laws.
If they fail to do so, Section 232(2)(e) of the Act allows owners to take action against the owners corporation (or committee) for “an exercise of, or failure to exercise, a function conferred or imposed by or under this Act or the by-laws of a strata scheme.”
This is something you would have to pursue yourself or in conjunction with other aggrieved owners. There are no StrataKops who will do this for you.
Section 35 of the Act allows a simple majority of owners at a general meeting to remove a committee member from the committee.
Section 45 of the Act allows a simple majority of committee members to sack an office-bearer by declaring an “office” vacant and electing a new member to fulfil that office (but they can remain as committee members).
Section 238 of the Act empowers the Tribunal to remove a committee member at its discretion or at the request of an owner or owners.
Any of these would make it easier to then pursue the member for breaches of the by-laws.
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Keep in mind that it is the Owners Corporation that must pursue a breach of by-laws action. So, your building’s strata committee, or a majority of owners voting at a general meeting, must approve taking this action. As the potential miscreant is on the strata committee there are some practical concerns about how to bring this about.
But before you worry about that, there are some preliminary steps to take. There should be a warning given to the miscreant, or more than one, which needs to be documented, and the response considered. This is normally carried out by the strata manager (or strata committee if there’s no manager), and so you need to write/email these to tell them about the possible breach, and to send a warning to the miscreant. It may turn out there is no breach? Have you checked your building’s by-laws to review their wording, to see if the behaviour is an actual breach? Is there a reasonable explanation? And, importantly will a majority of members of the strata committee, or a majority of owners at a general meeting, support taking further action?
There should be a warning given to the miscreant, or more than one, which needs to be documented, and the response considered.
I’m okay with one warning but there is a myth that you have to issue three. A Notice to Comply IS a warning and I can’t find anything in the Act that says there has to be a written warning beforehand. That said, procedurally, a warning followed by an NTC would look better at a tribunal. However, I have seen tribunals reject NTCs because the tenant said they weren’t aware of the by-law, even though their landlord had provided a copy and the by-law they had breached was listed on the NTC (as it must be).
I would pass a motion at committee level insisting that breaches should generate one warning (and only one) then a Notice To Comply. Remember, you don’t get to the Tribunal stage until after the NTC has been issued then ignored.
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How serious is the breach? If it caused damage that someone has to pay for, or a fire risk, then I can see why you want to pursue it. But if it’s something like parking their bike in an inconvenient spot, then a conversation might be the first step, with a move to more formal actions if the person proves to be intransigent. Not everyone is aware of the detail in the by-laws.