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Topic
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This concerns a 32 unit strata in NSW that is having the outside of the strata building painted at a cost of $ 250,000. Some Owners have just now become aware that the paint that is being applied to the building at this time is a slightly different color to what has been applied previously and had been ordered by the OC.
Evidently the EC knew about this a month ago but neglected to call an EGM and advise the Owners about what was happening.
Section 62 of the Strata Titles Act is not being carried out as the appearance of the building is being changed and the EC have decided on their own to carry out the painting and not inform the Owners.
This EC has been in office around 9 months and have not held an EC meeting for Owners to attend.
Instead the Chairman has informal meetings with the other members of the EC in his apartment and not in an area where other Owners can participate let alone even know when these meetings take place.
The EC constantly e-mail one another but again the Owners don’t know what is going on and there is no transparency.
Our understanding is that a few of the EC members suggested that the Owners be informed but this did not happen.
What would you suggest we do about this?
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If the paint is wrong because the painters screwed up, then they should fix it.
Even if it is an unavoidable error – change of available colour options, for instance – the owners should be informed. I would be telling the EC to let everyone know what is going on – with paint samples if need be – to avoid problems before it is too late. Most owners won’t care unless you are changing from cream to pink, and even then…
If they refuse, and you feel strongly enough about it, you could apply to NCAT for an interim order to halt the painting until such times as the majority of owners have been give a chance to object or otherwise.
Having said that, it’s probably not an issue you need to go to the barricades over. However, your chairman needs to read up on strata law. Informal decisions can be made by “ring-around” and chats but they have to be confirmed at a properly constituted meeting as soon as possible thereafter.
Otherwise the people making the decisions at these off-the-books meetings could find they are personally liable when things go wrong.
SCA-NSW offers a great, free online training scheme for EC members. Sounds like your chairman needs to do it as a matter of urgency.
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.
I would ask the EC if you (or someone else can address the meeting) to explain your concerns. I would also ask if your comments could be minuted and that evryone be given the opportunity to comment on the proposed colours.
If they refuse, tell them you will be gathering signatures for an EGM – which a lot of people want, anyway – where everything will be up for grabs, including, possibly, the make-up of the executive committee.
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.
In the ACT, owners can over-ride the EC by petitioning for a general meeting. If 25% or more of owners sign a petition calling for a general meeting, then the EC must call one as soon as practicable. The petition must state the matter to be considered by the meeting. My interpretation of the Act in the ACT is that the EC could put unrelated matters on the agenda distributed with the meeting notice if it chooses to do so. However, not everything would be ‘up for grabs’; only the matters that were notified in the meeting notice, which would be only the matter that was the subject of the petition, and perhaps other matters if the EC chose to take the opportunity to deal with some other matters. A motion to elect a new EC would only be on the agenda if that was included in the petition matters.
@PeterC said:
However, not everything would be ‘up for grabs’; only the matters that were notified in the meeting notice, which would be only the matter that was the subject of the petition, and perhaps other matters if the EC chose to take the opportunity to deal with some other matters. A motion to elect a new EC would only be on the agenda if that was included in the petition matters.Just a couple of points on “up for grabs”. You are 100 percent correct about only items that are on the agenda being permitted for discussion.
But what you say you could do and what you actually do when you are dealing with a recalcitrant committee need not be the same thing.
So telling them “everything will be up for grabs” is basically just warning them that if they force you to get the signatures for an EGM, they are opening a can of worms because you can then take this any way you like.
In NSW, like the ACT, 25 percent of owners can demand an EGM but I don’t think they have to declare the matter for discussion until the agenda is released.
In fact, before you even call the EGM you can request that certain items be discussed at the next general meeting and they have to be included as a motion.
So you could put up a motion to discuss the paint and another motion to declare all the seats on the EC vacant and have a new election. Then you can go to the chairman and ask him if he wants to discuss this or trigger an EGM at which these motions must, by law, be on the agenda.
However that is an extreme scenario, and highly confrontational. But it sounds like we are dealing with an EC chair who plays fast and loose with the rules anyway.
Forcing them to check strata law might be a major step forward in itself.
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.
@Felix said:
Can the make-up of the EC be changed at an EGM and what has to be done to accomplish this.?
Removing an EC member mid-term requires a Special Resolution. In other words, 75 percent of those voting in person or by proxy. The same would apply to a number or all of the committee members.
In some Owners opinion, the EC at present is too large for the size of this Strata and many members never contribute anything.
I don’t think you can change the size of the EC mid-term, just its membership
The Chairman is about to resign because of outside interests and he might continue as an EC member although not as the chair.
The chair is elected by the members of the committee, not the owners as a whole.
Other major EC positions should be considered also as the other two do not live in the building and one of them rarely attends any meetings.
Unless you can get that 75 percent vote, this is something to be addressed at your next AGM when all committee positions are vacated and you basically start again.
Does this ever end Jimmy? I’m sure it doesn’t! And you would be out of a job!!
I’ve been doing this for 12 years now – the new laws mean it’s unlikely to dry up any time soon.
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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