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I have one more question. What happens if one or more eligible lot owners doesn’t vote in a poll vote?
The majorities for ordinary and special resolutions are calculated on the basis of the number of votes cast. Section 14 of Schedule 1 of the SSMA says this: “A motion put to a meeting, or an election of officers of the owners corporation or members of the strata committee, is to be decided according to a majority in number of the votes cast for and against the motion…”
Apart from anything else, this clarifies the value (or lack thereof) of abstentions which are not counted as part of the overall vote. That might sound obvious but we have encountered situations where the losers in a vote wanted the abstentions to be counted as “don’t know” votes, so as to raise the threshold of percentages.
However, in your situation, the non-votes may not effectively be “no” votes, if they would otherwise have supported the motion. Three votes out of four would get you over the line (depending on UEs) but it would take five out of six to get the same result.
And have a look to see if there is a sustainability or accessibility component in the proposals becasue they reduce the majority for the required special resolution to be over 50 per cent.
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Here’s your idiot’s guide (written by a bona fide idiot).
Most votes at a general meeting are by a show of hands unless someone at the meeting demands a poll vote which means the vote must be conducted according to Unit Entitlements (UEs).
All special resolutions must be conducted by poll votes (UEs).
Committee elections are to be conducted by owners writing the names of their preferred candidates on an otherwise blank piece of paper. The default is one vote per lot but any owner entitled to vote can call for the election to be by a poll vote.
All committee votes are by a show of hands – UEs, proxies and the number of votes by which the member was elected are irrelevant.
In the case you mention, minor renovations can be decided by a show of hands, but major renovations requiring common property by-laws must be by a poll vote. Sustainability or accessibility by-laws require a special resolution by poll vote but they only need a 50+ percent majority, not the 75 precent normally required for special resolutions.
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Here’s Section 82 of the Act – it could not be clearer. The business that’s causing the insurance premiums to be raised can pay the difference voluntarily or the committee or any owner can seek orders at NCAT.
82 Individual contributions may be larger if greater insurance costs
(1) If the use to which a lot in a strata scheme is put causes an insurance premium for the strata scheme to be greater than it would be if it were not put to that use, so much of a contribution payable by the owner of the lot as is attributable to insurance premiums may, with the consent of the owner, be increased to reflect the extra amount of the premium.
(2) The Tribunal may, on application, make an order for payment of contributions of a different amount to one or more contributions levied or proposed by an owners corporation on an owner if the Tribunal is of the opinion that the owner’s consent has been unreasonably refused under this section.
(3) An application for an order under this section may be made by the lessor of a leasehold strata scheme, an owners corporation, an owner of a lot or a mortgagee in possession.
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I think the first thing I would do is ask the strata manager to provide in writing on what grounds thery shut you down. The law is pretty clear on this and given the risks associated with the gang wars over discount cigarettes and vapes, you are right to be concerned.
Why would the strata manager block this? Maybe they are cozy with the owner of the property who might lose a valuable tenant if they have to pay for the increase in levies.
Anybody have a valid reason why the strata manager may be blocking this?
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I assume that any developer can buy a unit and then take the strata to NCAT and get an order that the defects must be fixed.
You assume correctly. So the predatorial developer finds a property with serious levies stress, buys one unit at a cut price, agitates for a major upgrade and maintenance program that requires special levies, scares the most indebted owners to sell at below-par prices until they own enough properties to prevent any other developer engaging in a collective sale while putting themselves in the box seat to do exactly that.
Strata law says common property must be maintained but the worst case I have heard of was a block where a cabal of owners pushed through a decision to dig a car park under the block then, when everyone else had sold out, cancelled the plan and ran the building to suit their own agenda.
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I’m starting to wonder if we are going to end up as a failed strata. The best outcome is that we are going to have a lot of forced sales, and some of those we are going to lose the levies that are in arrears.
One of the unforeseen consequences of too many owners owing too much is that it makes the whole scheme vulnerable to predatorial investors who, in extreme cases, can take control of the block and push through work that requires special levies, forcing more owners to sell. Once they have bought enough properties at knock-down prices, they then sell or plan the whole block for demolition and rebuild at a massive profit.
And if that sounds like a paranoid conspiracy, there’s a bloke in the Eastern suburbs of Sydney doing it right now. Even if he can’t get the 75 percent of votes to do it on his own, he can get the 30 per cent he needs to stop anyone else doing it.
And then it’s just a case of using strata laws on repairs and maintenance and fire safety orders to squeeze the other owners financially until they are coming to him begging him to buy their flats. Evil incarnate.
The answer, before it gets too bad, is to sniff around for a legit developer who might be interested in a collective sale where everyone would get more than the paper valuation of their flat, not less.
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We need more specifics. What form does the bullying and harassment take? There’s only so much that your body corporate can do but if this person is hassling or verbally assaulting several residents, there’s a lot you can do collectively.
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Thanks Jimmy, I have already hinted to the building manager this will happen however he also says that they will need a drivers licence update as proof he “sleeps here” and is a “resident”. Is this legal?
I don’t think so. This is what the Fair Trading website says:
Tenancy notices
A landlord or their real estate agent must notify the owners corporation in writing of a lease. This allows the strata roll to be kept up to date.
The notice must be provided within 14 days of the start of the lease.
The notice must include:
- name of the tenant
- address for the tenant to receive notices
- start date of the lease, and
- the name of the landlord’s agent.
Where a landlord or their agent fails to provide the tenancy notice, the tenant may provide the notice to the owners corporation.
Go to the Fair Trading website and download the official tenancy form. Only you need to be satisfied that your brother is who he says he is. The strata manager or building manager has no right to demand ID unless it’s for the purposes of picking up registered mail or something similar.
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When he uses these facilities, he follows the requirements for owners and occupiers as per the strata and building management schemes. Ie for the tennis court he puts his name down to reserve the court for an hour to play with his mate, or 3 other mates to play doubles.
Well, there may lie your problem. The committee doesn’t like the idea of four “non-residents” playing on their tennis court. (BTW, that must surely meet the definition of “First World Problem”). Simple solution, register your brother as a tenant on the strata roll. Then he must be allowed all the rights and privileges of any other tenant and anyone who tries to prevent that is guilty of harassment.
Meanwhile you could apply for mediation with a view to taking action at the tribunal under Section 232 of the Act.
232 Orders to settle disputes or rectify complaints(1) Orders relating to complaints and disputes
The Tribunal may, on application by an interested person, original owner or building manager, make an order to settle a complaint or dispute about any of the following—(a) the operation, administration or management of a strata scheme under this Act
Just applying for mediation may get them to pull their heads in. And don’t get bogged down in matters of principle as in, you don’t see why you should have to do anything. Do what needs to be done to shut this down. This should be an easy fix and if the committee has a problem with your brother’s behaviour, then they have avenues they can pursue too.
FYI I know of a developer who claims they are a resident because they let apartments on airbnb and short-term lets are considered residential under our cockamamie laws in NSW.
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In NSW, a company does not “own the strata”. Your brother’s townhouse is one lot in a strata plan. The owners of each lot form a company called the owners corporation.
In a build-to-rent scheme, the company does “own” the strata and it may not be a strata scheme at all (although it would be if they wanted the option to sell individual properties in the future). Classic examples of this are where the builder-developer wants a penthouse with a view so builds enough apartments underneath to achieve their lofty ambitions.
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If you are an owner, you can apply to Dept of Fair Trading for a free mediation session. You can also apply to NCAT for a hearing.
If you want to take a case to NCAT, you MUST first attempt mediation at Fair Trading, with very few exceptions.
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he is planning to go all the way to NCAT and Fair Trading, but he’s worried about the cost to hire a lawyer for NCAT which will have to take himself as an owner.
Action at NCAT must be preceded by a mediation at Fair Trading. At the mediation, it will become apparent to them that they do not have a legal leg to stand on. If they still defend the case at the Tribunal, you can ask that they have to pay your legal costs on the grounds that they knew they had no defence. Make this clear at the mediation that this is your intention. Talk to an experienced strata lawyer NOW about your options.
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Thanks for the offer. Might be worth a look. But in any case it will be well out of date. Most of the strata nasties have been taken out of the SCA contracts as of this year, so it is probably full of strata law holes as is.
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They have already did a defective committee meeting to approve the installation by ballot; but they haven’t published the minutes after several days.
Committees can’t pass special resolutions. But I think if no one is prepared to take this to mediation at Fair Trading, you may as well lie back and take it (and whatever breaches come next).
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