A few years ago, while our EC was trying to act responsibly and make repairs that were an OC responsibility, the AGM rolled by. A couple of owners instigated a campaign to say the OC should not fund the repairs and should therefore reject or amend the budget to exclude the cost.
At relatively little expense we (the EC) obtained a legal opinion from a strata specialist lawyer answering a series of questions that reflect the objections of those couple of owners. I was then able to read out the answer given by the lawyer to each of those owners’ talking points and objections. We had questions such as:
“What risks might the OC have been exposed to if the current EC had not acted as promptly as possible when this matter was brought to the attention of the current EC?”
“Is it relevant that the managing agent in 19xx advised the 19xx EC that this was a matter between proprietors…?”
“Please explain whether and how Seiwa Proprietary Limited v The Owners Strata Plan 35042 (2006) NSWSC 1157 might be relevant here.”
“What impact does it have on responsibility for repairs if the engineer reports that a cause of the damage is …?”
“What impact does it have on responsibility for repairs if a cause of the damage is found to be a defect from the time of construction…?”
And so on. Clear, blunt answers from the lawyer focussed the meeting’s attention and the budget was approved.