Hello Steady Sam,
It helps just to clarify and unpack what’s actually happened here…
The Strata Management Agreement expired on 12/12/23 (3 year anniversary)
The Notice received from the old strata manager saying they would cease to act from 29/2/24 is effectively their exercising the (up to) 3 month option they have under S 50 (7) of the SSMA to extend.
There is NO “termination” involved, just the amended expiry of the original agreement to 29/2/24.
So far, so good, and without seeing the EGM Minutes I would assume that the appointment of the new manager at the specially called EGM on 15/2/24 was to be effective from 1/3/24 (appointments are typically just a single resolution to adopt and execute a term agreement).
NB At some point prior to 29/2/24 the strata committee would presumably have been consulted on the selection of the appropriate insurer for 1 March 2024 period onwards (to be ratified at a later AGM).
No surprises as to why the original SM chose to hang in there till 29/2/24 – it gave them time to be part of the strata insurance selection process and claim their commission !
It is hard to find fault with the process itself, but that does not stop the SM’s conduct being unconscionable even in the eyes of that declining band of people who believe that SM’s should be commission remunerated – even they assume the SM WORKS for their commission and this one, by the careful exercise of the s 50 (7) option, avoided any responsibility for insurance claims handling etc in the coming 12 months.
Thankyou for sharing something that should be a lesson to all those schemes still remunerating their SMs with commissions.