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I don’t know what to do?
Are you in a strata townhouse in NSW? If not, what and where?
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Funny part is I can find a Supreme Court case, strata case, where the Justice uses this definition when referring to a special resolution.
Did you mean “can’t” rather than “can”? Would make more sense in the context.
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First of all, check who the proxy votes were and how they were allocated. In Victoria, as elsewhere, proxy holders are emtiled to one proxy for buildingings of 20 lots or fewer or up to 5 per cent of the number of units.
For instance, if your building has 95 units, then proxy holders would be entitled to four proxy votes each if you have 150 units then it would be seven each (since you can’t have part votes).
The reality is that your four developer stooges can’t have more than 20 percent of the vote. Your challenge is to get more than 20 percent voting to replace them at the next AGM (if not before).
So you could challenge the last election, if proxies were misused in some way, or just campaign with owners to change things and get more than 20 per cent of the vote in support.
89D Restriction on number of lot owners on behalf of whom a proxy may vote on a resolution
(1) A person must not vote as a proxy on a resolution at a meeting of the owners corporation—
(a) on behalf of more than one lot owner—if there are 20 or less occupiable lots on the plan of subdivision; or
(b) on behalf of more than 5% of the lot owners—if there are more than 20 occupiable lots on the plan of subdivision.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply if—
(a) the lot owners for whom the person is authorised to vote on behalf of are members of that person’s family; or
(b) the person votes as a proxy in the prescribed circumstances.
There is another potential avenue – and you really need to talk to an experienced strata lawyer about this. If you had any evidence of misuse of their power, in terms of favouring the developer to the detriment of the owners, you might consider invoking Section 117 (1c) and (2) to argue that the developers representatives have an inbuilt conflict of interest by holding a majority on the committee, their collective power going beyond an advisory capacity.
117 Duties of members of committees and sub‑committees
(1) A member of a committee or sub-committee of an owners corporation must, in the performance of the member’s functions— (c) act in the interests of the owners corporation.
(2) A member of a committee or sub-committee of an owners corporation must not make improper use of the member’s position to gain, directly or indirectly, an advantage for the member or for any other person.
You might then apply to VCAT under section 165 (1)(h)
165 What orders can VCAT make?
(1) In determining an owners corporation dispute, VCAT may make any order it considers fair including one or more of the following—
(h) an order appointing (with the person’s consent) or revoking the appointment of—
(i) the chairperson of the owners corporation;
(ii) the secretary of the owners corporation;
(iii) a member of a committee or sub‑committee of the owners corporation;
Again, I would stress that you need to talkto an experienced strata lawyer.
And finally, albeit at the risk of a backlash from your fellow owners, there’s always the media, as per this similar story from the Age online: Melbourne property: Adrian bought a glamorous new home in Southbank’s Normanby building. Then there was a $3000-a-year catch
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That could work. But if they have a majority of votes for electing a committee (see my response to your other post) then they will have a majority for denying the motion. However, it is a nice “wedge” issue- “why don’t you want ordinary owners to see how the committee makes its decisions?”
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That could work. But if they have a majority of votes for electing a committee (see my response to your other post) then they will have a majority for denying the motion. However, it is a nice “wedge” issue- “why don’t you want ordinary owners to see how the committee makes its decisions?”
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And to whom, Sir Humphrey, does one demonstrate the truth? The SC?
Facts and “truth” are less important than cause and effect.
If someone is telling lies or presenting erroneous information that is causing damage to the strata scheme, than that is something that can be and should be challenged via the mediation and tribunal system.
If it’s a case of personal affront, my view is that there are beter ways to spend (waste?) your time and emotional energy than fighting the good fight.
In the building where I live, the chair routinely stacks the committee with their chosen acolytes – generally the rich people who live on the higher floors – and makes snide and derisory comments to anyone who offers any criticism (including, especially, yours truly).
However, they have adopted our building as their hobby farm and do a lot of unpaid work. All that said, when they make a bad decsion, there is enough involvement in the general community to stop their more egregious plans. And if they did something that was bad for the scheme, and pushed it through at an AGM, I and others would run them through Fair Trading and the Tribunal.
It has taken me a while to realise this, but sometimes it’s easier to eat the shit sandwich, and keep your powder dry until you really need it, rather than be the constant thorn in their side that eventually becomes blunted through over-use.
Otherwise, if someone has lied about you or the fact of the matter and it’s on the record, put your correction and objection on the record too, perhaps in the form of a motion to the next general meeting that “so and so be asked to withdraw and apologise for the erroneous information they presented on such and such a date.”
Then it is there for everyone to see and if they decline to withdraw or apologise, then it’s on them and not you. If the chair declines to put it on the agenda, then you can apply for mediation because they have breached strata law and that is where the truth will come out.
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AI is wrong (as it so often is). Owners in Victoria MAY attend committee meetings, if invited by the chair or a majority of committee members. They don’t have the right to attend as they do in NSW.
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There is a point where the air above your terrace or yard becomes common property (about 2.5 metres, I think). If the tree is big enough, it is partly in common property and therefor you will probably have to get agreement with the OC to make any drastic changes. Don’t forget that the ree may be there to provide shade for another property. On the other hand, the OC has to share the cost of maintaining the tree too. Swings and roundabouts.
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If in NSW, start by looking through the NSW Surveillance Devices Act –
That Act is designed to offer ways that law enforcement authorities can surveil suspects. It is not about individuals or companies installing CCTV or security cameras.
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It has just occurred to me that what may have been requested is one of those fancy electric Japanese toilet seats that has a “bidet” like facility. In that case, it probably isn’t interfering with common property but the Committee should still insist that a licensed plumber be used to install it. And if they don’t already have a by-law in place, they should pass one that says exactly that – all plumbing work must be carried out by a licensed and insured plumber. After all, they can do it with a simple majority vote.
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I think the best thing for you to do is to take this as an opportunity to start afresh, especially since new laws are coming in that will require owners corporations and strata managers to offer some sort of payment plan to people who are behind in their levy debt.
In your shoes I would be asking the Owners Corp to stop adding penalty rates and for the strata manager to facilitate a reasonable plan to pay off the debt.
Have a look at this governement web page which is at least a starting point. This is a free financial and legal advice service – it is not a lender offering to consolidate your debts, as many services masquerading as financial assistance are.
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There is a tree in the easement which I am trying to understand whether it falls under the common property or strata or my lot?
Don’t understand what you mean by “common property or strata”? They’re the same thing … unless you have a different definition of “strata”.
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All you can do is set aside all the politics and shenanigans and vote on the proposal on its merits, and according to your conscience.. Every issue will have a winner and a loser – Hell will break loose when it wants to, regardless of what you do.
FYI: For anyone reading this who may be in any doubt, an abstention is not a vote, which may seem obvious but is critical in calculating special resolutions which are based on the percentages of people voting.
For instance, if there are 30 owners at a meeting and 23 of them vote for a special resolution and seven vote against, the resolution passes because that’s fewer than 25 percent voting against.
However, if three of the 30 abstain, the number of people voting is now 27 and the seven “nay” votes constitute more than 25 per cent. You could say that in a tight vote an abstention is a No and should be regarded as such. It is not a neutral decision.
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I would think the application/request should come from the owner only.
Absolutely. This is a renovation, effectively, not just the installation of a new piece of furniture. The tenant needs to come to an arrangement with the owner first, which answers the question about informing them.
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