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Hi, this is for NSW. If you’re not an owner or hold a proxy, can you attend an AGM? We’ve recently found out that who we thought was an owner, isn’t listed on the title deeds, has been elected to the SC (by themself and one other unit) and making decisions for our building.
- This topic was modified 9 months, 2 weeks ago by .
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Mostly anyone can be elected to a strata committee, provided they are nominated by an owner who is not standing for election. The exceptions include the building manager or a real estate agent who operates in the block, and who are not owners.
In the first few years of our current building, the architect was on the committee, which was utterly invaluable. And the good news is that if the owners realise they have “accidentally” elected someone on to the committee who really shouldn’t be there, a simple majority can vote them off at a general meeting.
A non-owner can’t elect themselves on to the committee, unless they carry a valid proxy from an owner.
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
- This reply was modified 9 months, 2 weeks ago by .
At the risk of being obvious, ask to see it. Also, the Act requires the chair to announce who can vote and any proxies supplied for the meeting. Ask them to show the proxy form. If they can’t, then you might argue that the proxy vote doesn’t count.
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
this is for NSW. If you’re not an owner or hold a proxy, can you attend an AGM?
We did this one on a podcast by a well known strata lawyer who the Keymaster has been a guest for occasionally.
The lawyer felt the AGM notice was the invitation to attend and that those without an invitation or proxy from an invited person was not allowed. It is an interesting analogy but it has its limitations.
Best offering i had during those discussions was that there is a case from the SA Supreme Court that distills down to saying strata meetings are private which leads to a viable position that they are for owners and their proxies, the rest of the world is not entitled to attend and can be asked to leave if they do attend.
That gets interesting if a couple ‘own’ a unit but only one is on the strata roll and that person attends, their partner is not welcome? Sounds harsh but let’s not let fuzzy warm feelings overcook our model.
Additionally some weight could be given to owners being entitled to attend a SC meeting in silence. Seems attendance for that type of OC meeting is limited to a specific class of person. It would be strange if the whole world could just waltz into a general meeting but only owner could go to a SC meeting. Where is the consistency in policy in that?Can a non owner or non proxy holder attend the AGM; that is a no form me and i back that no with SA Supreme Court authority.
The other question is, how do you remove someone who is not entitled to be there or doesn’t have proof that they have been invited or proxied by an owner or resident? I guess by the time you got to that stage, security might have been organised.
Someone I know used to invite a big ex-army tenant to his strata committee meetings just to tell one owner who would interrupt constantly and noisily to “calm down”. Not terribly legal but very effective.
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
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