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Topic
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I’m on my strata committee but a number of members are not sending me emails regarding a common property issue. Is this legal?
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Ziggy – If you are being left off the list when official documents, correspondence etc are circulated then that is a matter of concern. Send an email to the Secretary and the BCM and remind them that you need to be included on their official contact list.
However, if its just committee members privately contacting each other to discuss an issue then there is nothing that you can do about that. It is not unreasonable to have an informal chat via email, just as it is not unreasonable to have an informal chat in the hallway of your building.
Ziggy – How long has the a/c been in place?
If the a/c was placed on common property many years ago, and was known about, and yet nothing was ever done by the body corporate to remedy the situation then the body corporate could now face the issue of acquiescence.
You may need to check the records to make sure that no letters were ever sent to the owner who installed the a/c requesting that the a/c be removed.
The principle of acquiescence essentially denies a person (or body corporate) the right to later object to something that has in fact been in place for some time without any action or complaint having been taken by them, giving rise to an inference of assent.
It could be argued that the Body Corporate did not take steps in a reasonable time to require the removal of the air conditioning.
If this argument is able to be sustained, it may be harsh and unfair to subsequently require the removal. Reasonableness is decided objectively, based on the circumstances.