Under Section 108 (in part, below) the Owners Corproation may not alter common property without first passing a special resolution, which requires a general meeting and 75 per cent of those voting at the meeting, voting in favour.
Strata committees and strata managers are specifically forbidden by law from making decisions that require special resolutions.
So the procedure you outline above is correct. An Extraordinary general meeting would be held, a motion would be discussed and voted on and the strata manager would follow the instructions agreed upon at the meeting.
For instance, the motion could be in two parts
- This strata scheme agrees that the [identified] tree should be removed.
- This meeting instructs the strata manager to apply to the council for permission to remove the tree referred to in item one.
- Should permission be granted, the strata manager is instructed to obtain three quotes from qualified and licensed contractors to remove the tree.
Now, at this point the best policy may be to let matters take their course and then agree that there will be another general meeting for the owners to decide if they want to proceed, to choose the contractors and to decide how they are going to raise the funds.
However if you have sufficient funds in your sinking fund, you could authorise (at this first meeting) the strata committee to choose a contractor and go ahead as they have already been given permission to remove the tree.
But if you don’t have the funds, you’ll need another general meeting to agree on a special levy.
108 Changes to common property
(1) Procedure for authorising changes to common property
An owners corporation or an owner of a lot in a strata scheme may add to the common property, alter the common property or erect a new structure on common property for the purpose of improving or enhancing the common property.
(2) Any such action may be taken by the owners corporation or owner only if a special resolution has first been passed by the owners corporation that specifically authorises the taking of the particular action proposed.
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.