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@JimmyT said:
How do you stop a loud-mouthed bully from dominating a strata committee? You know the type; they assume their way is the only way and shout and scream like a spoiled child – or sneer sarcastically like a pantomime villain – when anyone suggests an alternative.Free and energetic discussion is to be encouraged, but all too often the politics of the playground take over with the strongest opinion prevailing over quiet logic while the majority acquiesce to the bullies rather than become the target of their aggression…
Indeed. Even this ‘strata guru’ has decided to call it a day and resigned from his committee. The bully was bad enough but the acquiescence of some of the others on the EC was really the last straw. Some just kept their heads down or tried to keep the peace while others scored points by siding with the bully. Not knowing whether you had support or not and every little issue getting bigger than Ben Hur is what wore me down. So I am having a break from our committee for a bit. Most of what I wanted to see done has been done now and I might be able to do more from outside the tent for a while.
I expect the new guy will manage to alienate a fair few owners soon enough and I will be able to console myself with a little schadenfreude.
@Deborah Searle said:
What Code of Conduct? I’m in NSW.The suggestion that Jimmy and I are making is that in states where the strata act does not provide a code of conduct, the EC could adopt one anyway or the OC could impose one by making it a by-law/rule/article. Elsewhere I posted the ACT’s code of conduct and JT posted one pinched from the US.
As I routinely mention as a caveat, I am in the ACT so less familiar with other states’ legislation. However, if it is like the ACT, the committee does not have the authority to appoint the managing agent. That is a job for the OC at a general meeting.
Also, if any committee member wants to call a meeting they have to give every other member 7 days notice unless all agree to less. So, here at least, the meeting notice would have been invalid and also the decision made was invalid.
Management agreements generally have a run on clause which would allow management to continue after the last year of the agreement at that last year’s fee amount until the OC had a general meeting. So, I don’t think there is any argument that it was urgent and necessary to reappoint.
I would say you could threaten to go to the Tribunal for an order that the management is continuing on a month to month basis on the old agreement until and general meeting can be called at which the new EC could present the OC with one or more options to choose from to appoint a manager.
If the manager accepts that this is the situation, then you don’t need to go to the Tribunal. If they don’t accept the situation, then you carry out the threat.
Obviously, you need to check what applies from the Act re managing agent appointment where you are, but it seems the invalid meeting notice and lack of quorum would be enough.
At the very least, an item for discussion at the AGM. The purported meeting was ‘recent’ and the AGM is in one week. Therefore, it seems reappointing the manager could have waited till the AGM which would have been the proper forum for the decision.
Do you have 7 members of the committee or is it 7 members of the whole owners corp? If the decision was made just by the committee, it was invalid for that alone. This is a decision for a general meeting. If the 2 people attended what was purported to be a general meeting, where was the meeting notice that should have gone to all owners?
What to do depends on whether you would like to continue with this manager in spite of the poor behaviour. If you would want to continue, you could propose a motion that would validly appoint the manager. IE you can remedy an improper process by retrospectively doing it properly.
If you don’t want to reappoint, then you might need to discuss at the AGM then the incoming EC could instigate the process for calling a general meeting to properly appoint a different manager.
The committee has some discretion to enforce or not enforce. A committee might be of the view that the frequency or quantity of the washing in this case is so minor as to not be worth enforcing. Or they might have some other reason, which may or may not be reasonable. Perhaps they are just prioritising the limited time and energy of a group of volunteers to something they consider more important than the offence caused to some by visible smalls?
The committee of which I was a member till recently had one member opposed to enforcing a particular instance of a breach of a rule (ACT-speak for by-law) but the rest of the committee supported enforcement and proceeded. The minutes recorded the one dissenting view. So, for a start, the committee members could insist that minutes record who supported and who didn’t.
The committee only has discretion in the absence of a general meeting resolution directing it. So, if you are sufficiently bothered by washing (I am generally unconcerned by washing on balconies), you could put a motion to a general meeting that the OC directs the committee to enforce this by-law in all circumstances. That would test whether a majority of owners feel this is necessary or reasonable.
@JimmyT said:
Sir H is right. Pass a bylaw that any unit being used for short stay rentals must be fitted with a separate water meter at the owner’s expense…I would still suggest a separate water meter for all units. There is a good chance of it passing since usually everyone thinks that everyone else is using more than their fair share of any resource.
@tharra said:
…but it’s illogical to me. How do you know if an SC member has agreed to communicate with you without communicating with them?…I wonder if underneath this is a committee that is happy to have communication from all but a few they regards as serial pains. Perhaps they envisage quietly letting most residents know they are happy to be approached. Seems a bit over the top and, as you say, illogical.
If this is meant to be binding on owners (IE as a bylaw or rule), then I would think it has to be a special resolution. It could be intended as a statement of what owners and residents ‘should’ do, in which case it might be regarded as an unenforceable ‘house rule’ and then an ordinary resolution would be OK.
However, it might be inconsistent with some provisions of the Act. For example, where I am in the ACT, “The owners corporation may enter the unit without notice to the owner or occupier of the unit if the access is required in an emergency.” So, what is the resident to do if 1) there is water pouring out of a unit doing damage, and 2) nobody responds to knocking on the door and 3) the resident could quickly and easily tell a member of the committee, who could represent the owners corporation and enter the unit to investigate and prevent further damage. At the least, the motion should be less absolute and allow for emergency contact.
However, all that aside, is this a sledge-hammer to crack a nut? Is the committee fed up with constant communication from a few owners that verges on harassment? I suggest that it would be far more reasonable for the committee to put a motion along the following lines:
“That owners and residents are requested to avoid direct contact with committee members except in an emergency and to submit queries, suggestions and requests in writing through the managing agent and/or the secretary of the committee whose email and mail addresses will be publicised from time to time.”
If someone says they just want to talk about some issue, that is fine (and is generally to be encouraged): The written request could be for a committee member to phone the person back or visit to talk about some specified topic. Providing the second avenue of communication still provides a filter, if that is what the committee wants, but gets around a slow managing agent.
The secretary could set up a non-personal email address for the purpose such as ‘SecretaryPoshNameFlats@gmail.com’ and management of that address could be passed on as secretaries change.
Why don’t the committee want to be contacted? Where I am, the new committee, after each AGM, distributes a contact sheet to each unit. It includes the managing agent’s details and the committee details. Most include their unit number, a phone number and email address. Only rarely has a committee member preferred to leave off one of those details. The same details are included on each newsletter which tend to be distributed every few months.
I do have some sympathy for committee members getting too much communication from a few owners but I have also seen the opposite problem. Another class of owner is too nice, doesn’t want to bother you, and will only tell you things when you happen to get chatting that it would have been good to have known about much earlier and could have been dealt with easily.
Can you talk to the other owners? I suggest you foreshadow your concern exactly as you did here. IE ask them in advance to stick with the meeting to get the business finished and to support you in your role as chair.
There are formal procedural motions that can be put by anyone to regulate a meeting. By putting such motions, the others would be saying in a cool, calm, formal way that they support you in imposing an orderly meeting structure.
Another thing would be for you to announce a time limit on speaking for or against any motion and to take speakers for and against in turn. After a couple of rounds of back and forth you could say that you will only take any further comments before the vote if a person who has not spoken wishes to make a point that has not already been made.
If people are interrupting or talking over anyone else, stop the speaker, ask the interrupter to desist and very clearly start the clock from the beginning again for the person who was interrupted.
With luck they will get the message. Bullies are often not used to people standing up to them and sometimes fold surprisingly easily when their victims start to show a little less timidity.
I can see that water might increase but not much else on maintenance. With only 6 units, could the OC resolve to install individual water metering? Even without considering one unit being rented, some units might be frugal with water and others profligate.
@Lady Penelope said:
Can you get yourself onto the Committee at the AGM? It might be easier for you to change things from ‘within’.Are you planning on attending the AGM? …
I second all that.
@DeadWreckOn said:
Is this wall considered to be common property or part of my unit?The strata/units plan would be definitive. If it is entirely to the inside of your lot/unit boundary, then I’d say it’s yours.
Still sounds like his proposal is unlikely to get council construction approval.
An easement for a sewer pipe is not an easement for access. It might be possible to a road over a sewer inspection opening if it is the sort with a ‘man-hole’ cover.
Different sorts of service easements can have different things allowed or not allowed by whoever holds the title for the easement. Eg. where I am we have service easements through the site. All can have a footpath or asphalt over but it’s our problem if they ever need to dig up the pipes. You can’t have a wall parallel with the edge because if they ever have to dig up a sewer pipe it could fall into the trench. However, subject to some specifications you can have perpendicular wall or even one crossing over. We could put a carport roof over, but only if the roof is high enough for a digger to fit under. Footings have to be outside the ‘zone of influence’ of pipes – i.e. not putting a load on the pipe through the ground. However, if the easement has a water main in it, you can’t have any structure overhead. Lots of rules.
Large trees might be equivalent to your local council to what in the ACT would be a ‘regulated’ tree. Here, if more than 12m tall or more than some girth, the tree is automatically ‘regulated’ and permission is required for removal or even a damaging activity e.g. digging in the root zone. A good case has to be made to get permission.
I’m 75% of the way through the Kindle version. I won’t write a fancy literary review. Suffice it to say I am enjoying JT’s novel. There is not that much swearing and a thoroughly enjoyable mix of humour and action, well written. I recommend it.
Hi,
I didn’t mean to imply anything negative by ‘pet project’. Rather I meant that if you were not on the SC, offering to do more than just suggest something to others is a good strategy to get things done. As general advice I tell people that if you make the running on the project you are keen to see done, others are likely to appreciate that, leave you to it, and support whatever recommendation you come up with, so long as it is clearly well researched.
If the doors are poor quality, it might be better to just replace them with better door that will self-close and lock. Perhaps talk to a few security installers and ask for their recommendation. I expect yours is not an unusual situation.
One thing to perhaps ascertain: Do people leave the doors unlocked out of laziness because they need to use a key or do something more than just walk through? Alternatively, do they leave them unlocked deliberately because it is easier for visitors to be able to come directly to their unit door or because they can come and go without fishing out their keys from bags or pockets? Would an improved system be subverted by people chocking the doors?