[Topsheila]

We should have had an AGM in April but because of the covid19 situation, we did not.  We were not notified by the SC, nor have we had any correspondence from either the SC or the strata manager about this issue.  Our new levies were due on 1 May 2020 and still (at 4 June) have not received levy notices, nor any communication about same.  We are in the middle of very expensive building renovations and are due for an update on the costs of the building works, which involve a special levy.  I resigned from the SC in January 2020 and, since then, the SC has not informed me of any ongoing issues, when I have requested information, specifically about the levies, or the special levy.  The last response by the Chair to one of my emails was a blanked out subject line and no visible recipients.  I objected to this secrecy and have had no responses since.  Aren’t all owners entitled to answers about why/when we are/are not having an AGM and what our levies will be?  Our strata manager says he knows nothing.  The silence is deafening!

[Topsheila]

We have a pretty harmonious group of owners, so I can’t imagine such a scenario, but you could do what we do and just hold paper meetings.  We haven’t had a physical SC meeting for two years.  We all just meet for the AGM and the occasional EGM.  All of the SC members work full-time except me and, as Chairman, I can write up an agenda, sort out any queries relating to questions, have suggested remedies available and generally keep everything on track.  Everyone appreciates this, so things remain relatively peaceful.  I email the SC members the agenda and ask for responses and/or votes on the issues.  And no one else knows when we do this until I post the Minutes on the notice board. We also try and keep the committee at an odd number, eg 5 or 7 people, so there is never a tied motion.

[Topsheila]

The NBN utility box that is set up outside your house or in a common area of your apartment building is free for everybody.  The NBN installation inside your home (the “switch” to NBN) is at your own cost and responsibility.  You will need an NBN modem (around $300 plus the cost of any additional cabling). There are many ISPs now in the market so it pays to shop around. 

[Topsheila]

Obnoxious tenants who stay for years, speaker phones on balconies and people who think others should just put up with their barking dog.

[Topsheila]

Thanks very much scotlandx – most helpful.  Somehow I had overlooked this.

[Topsheila]

I was not aware that anyone but a financial owner could be elected to the SC.  The very thought fills me with dread, notwithstanding your helpful architect.  Can you direct me to where this is stated in the legislation?

[Topsheila]

I can’t imagine our SC actually allowing an owner’s siblings to attend one of our meetings. We have a great committee and co-operative owners.  We recently encountered this issue in my building – mother owns, daughter (early 20s) is the tenant and attended our AGM with her and commented on every single matter without being asked.  She was extremely rude and when asked to leave when we were commencing the SC meeting following the AGM, simply refused.  I was very unhappy about the situation and, as chairman, after a while I wrote to the owner and explained that her daughter couldn’t attend our formal meetings and mouth off at everyone.  I also explained that our financial details were only for the owners’ information. I also sent her a copy of the text of Strata Schemes Management Act 2015, Schedule 1 Meeting procedures of owners corporation, 21   Tenants at meetings.

Another problem is that neither have lived in strata before and had no idea there were “rules”, so there is an ongoing explanation for everything.  I would never condone anyone but owners attending an AGM or being voted onto the SC.

[Topsheila]

Thank you both for your responses. I am astonished to learn that the Secretary is supposed to be doing everything I am doing. As long as I have lived in our strata building, the previous long-time Chairman (a man who worked) was the person we complained to, who communicated with the SM, who instigated all repairs and new works and chaired all meetings, including the AGM.  So, I am just following in his footsteps and everyone is going along.  As I mentioned in my first post, all the other SC members work, whereas I do not and am available in the building to let in tradesmen, attend to immediate problems, like someone’s power going off. (Amazing how many people don’t know there are electricity cupboards in the building.)

There are five members on our committee, two of whom rent out their properties and do not live in the building. The woman who is supposedly the Secretary and who does live in the building, is the one who is always unfinancial and has been since I have lived here. She just pays off her levies over time and every year she is elected to the SC (which I think suited the previous Chairman).  I raised her financial status with the SM and the previous Chairman last year, only to be fluffed off, and nobody else seems to care. I don’t want to press the issue, because I don’t want to embarrass her.  I just feel she shouldn’t be on the SC.

I also don’t think she is capable of dealing with the issues I am dealing with at the moment, eg, the window audit, internal painting quotes and works and major works coming up within the next few years.

Is it feasible that I just say I will become Secretary and she can be Chairman?  The other people on the SC are professionals and I think would not be interested in so much work – and, with so little co-operation from the SM, I am fast losing interest.

[Topsheila]

Well, our AGM proceeded on 27 March 2017.  I did not attend as I had a medical procedure that day and didn’t feel up to it.  My neighbour, who also did not receive a Notice of AGM attended and told me the only other people present were the strata committee (old/new).  In due course I received the minutes of the meeting.  Unbelievably, they proceeded without a quorum – including the number of a utility lot as a person attending.  The minutes stated that all SC members had self-nominated, but one I know was interstate and had not given her proxy to anyone because she had included me in an email advising that she was out of town.

I was so enraged that things proceeded with all my objections, I investigated my options.  Unfortunately, you can’t take people to NCAT without first attempting mediation through Fair Trading (which, unfortunately has moved from the city to Parramatta, involving a long train trip for me), so I got all my information together and filed an application for mediation with Fair Trading (who can knock back the application if they consider it frivolous).  They took about a week to get back to me with a date a further three weeks away.  So that was a week ago.

The OC was represented by the Chairman and the Strata Manager as respondents, with me (alone) as the applicant.  Obviously, the Chairman and the Strata Manager were hostile and repeatedly told me that everything had been in order and the AGM was legitimate.  They lied, told fairy tales, told me the Notice of AGM had been mailed to everyone (it still hasn’t turned up and my neighbour even made enquiries at our post office).  The mediator, who was already acquainted with the Strata Manager, told me several times to be quiet and listen to the Strata Manager. The Chairman told me what I said about him was defamatory (it isn’t).  The Strata Manager said the AGM was early mostly because she was going on holiday, to which I replied that an email to that effect should have been sent to the committee members.  The Chairman said an email was sent (oh sorry, somehow your name was left off).  I told them the AGM was invalid because they didn’t have a quorum and the usual SC member who was unfinancial couldn’t be on the SC, to which the Strata Manager replied that (of course) the levies were paid prior to the meeting. I have yet to see evidence of this.

The mediators at Fair Trading are elderly, semi-retired legal people and I felt our session was hindered by a “let’s stick to the rules” approach.  Both the Chairman and the Strata Manager are aggressive people and I ended up just accepting the outcome was not going to go my way and all that was resolved was that the Strata Manager would email me when documents were available and I could go to her office and pick them up. 

The whole episode was very disappointing.  I’m right back to where I was with a now cliquey SC in place, who will continue to let the Chairman make all decisions.

[Topsheila]

I would think anyone using the words “ultra vires” would have a legal background, eg, lawyer, law clerk or legal secretary.

[Topsheila]

That sounds strange to me.  No one in your building is interested in how much their levies are, or will increase by at a new AGM or how much money the SC spends or what they spend it on?  The owners in my building are much more engaged and everyone knows who is on the SC and are kept up to date with emails and notices placed on the noticeboard.  My current issue is that I have been Secretary of the SC over the past nine months but have been deliberately excluded from meetings and was not notified of an AGM (which is a legal requirement for all owners) until I found out by accident. I asked for the meeting to be postponed but was ignored!

[Topsheila]

Thanks again to everyone for all the helpful information, especially the financial information JimmyT.

I have been on to NCAT and Fair Trading today and have been told that before the matter can go to the Tribunal, I have to go through mediation with the owners corporation through Fair Trading.  I have to file a mediation form with any attachments and the process takes about four weeks (and, of course, there is a backlog), with no decisions made by the mediator.  If nothing changes, I can then take them to the Tribunal.

SirHumphrey – I suspect knocking on doors would only antagonise people.  You know, the usual – “why are you making a fuss”?  And I doubt anyone would still have an envelope.

[Topsheila]

First of all I checked with a neighbour friend on my floor on Friday night, 24 March, and asked her if she was aware that an AGM had been called.  She said no.  She is one of the people who is not computer literate and has all notices mailed to her.  I also have my Notice of AGM mailed to me because I don’t have a printer and it is always a large document.  I had to go onto the strata website and send the Notice to myself and take it to an internet cafe to get it printed so I could know what they planned for the AGM.  It cost me $19.50, which I want reimbursed.  So, after reading all your excellent information here, I compiled a lengthy email to all strata committee members, the strata manager and three owners who are more interested than others at what is going on, setting out my concerns about a “secret” AGM.  I sent this on Sunday morning, giving everyone time to consume before Monday morning.  The emails started at 6:38am on Monday.  

First from the strata manager, who stated emphatically that everything had been done according to the rules and that the meeting would go ahead.  I should tell you at this point, that this strata manager (an independent strata manager – just her and an assistant) has only been managing our property for six months after we sacked the previous one and moved to her.  She said the Notices had been mailed or emailed out to all owners on 13 March 2017.  

Next  an email from the chairman saying he noted that the strata manager had replied to me so he would leave it to her (he’s such a coward).  I replied that it was odd that I and another owner with whom I am friendly seemed to be the only people who had not received a Notice of AGM.  The strata manager replied, getting more hostile with every response to me, that everything was in order and she sent me a screen shot of the labels created for the mailing and a screenshot of the email list to owners dated 13 March 2017.  She then replied with another email telling me that there had been a legitimate SCM settling the AGM agenda, to which I replied that I had never been advised that a SCM had been called and why hadn’t I been notified?  She didn’t answer that.  At no time did she suggest I could come into the office (5 minutes’ walk from my place) and pick up a couple of copies of the Notice.

The chairman then sent me another email stating that the meeting would go ahead regardless.

All this time (over a few hours), no one else threw in their two cents.  I finally sent an email to the strata manager telling her I was very unhappy with her behaviour, ignoring me as a committee member, omitting me from emails and her general hostility that day while I was asking legitimate questions about the AGM and that she should consider her business reputation.  Dead silence ever since – from everyone!!

I was so shocked by the whole episode and, feeling unwell, decided not to go to the meeting.  However, my neighbour attended.  Unbelievably, the strata manager did not have a hard copy of the Notice for her to read!!  My neighbour could only tell me a few things.  As I suspected, the rusted on committee is back, along with the non-financial member as secretary, and an additional woman who has previously served.  They are also planning on spending a lot of money on the building (which is bound to include the $15,000+ for the chairman’s unit)!  And a by-law to approve someone’s new bathroom.  I suspect the chairman manipulated the whole incident to make sure I did not get onto the committee again because the strata manager did not know me and it was very odd the way she treated me, as though she had been told “don’t take any notice of her”.  He’s a controlling bully and is always determined to get his way no matter what.

I won’t know much more until the minutes are posted on the website.

Can you tell me whether this person who is always non-financial is allowed to be on the strata committee? How is she allowed to vote?  I cannot find this information anywhere but I find it very odd that everyone knows she is not financial yet they go along with her being elected every year.

[Topsheila]

Thanks for all this information.  I have been debating whether to call the committee and the strata manager out on this – so now I more feel confident, I will. Also, there is a strata committee member who has been on the committee for years and who is never financial and I have been wondering why they keep letting her stay on every year but I have been unable to find any information on whether strata committee members have to be financial.

[Topsheila]

Thanks for your lengthy and informative post.  Events have now overtaken me. Since I wrote the post yesterday, I discovered that the AGM has been secretly set for next Monday, 27 March with no mailed copies to owners (which we have always gotten in the past), so people who are not computer literate and don’t use the strata web site, have no idea that an AGM has been called.  A notice was put up on the notice board late last night, but it is hidden away down a passageway. The first item of business is the election of the strata committee, whereas it is usually the last item. They have also included a form so that only a committee member can nominate another committee member. Seeing as I wasn’t consulted, or even advised (as an owner) that the AGM had been moved forward six weeks, I now feel I couldn’t possibly work with the other committee members. The Chairman obviously feels very threatened to use such tactics and has left me feeling very demoralised! My only question is – why wouldn’t the strata manager be notifying all members of the strata committee about such an important matter – not to mention other owners?

[Author]

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