EC Members Expand By-Laws without approval

Thanks for you input Whale; As usual excellent points and realistic comments about the likely outcomes. 

Today with the new EC member and I attended a meeting with the Strata Licensee to discuss matters.  This was suggested by a lawyer friend of new EC member, before proceeding to NCAT (should he wish) if things could not be resolved.

The Licensee did not seem interested in the By-Laws being incorrect (he sighted them, was shown the title search showing no changes made, & agreed they were wrong ) and suggested that the New EC Member take it to NCAT himself, to get the EC to correct the By-Laws posted on the Notice board.  Quite disappointing he did not offer to get the Strata Manager to take the matter up with the EC.

Since my original post (7/1/16) I had written to the EC Secretary advising that the 9/12/2014 minutes attached to the 9/12/2015 AGM had not been corrected as 2 matters related to the 2014 AGM were discussed in detail at the 2015 AGM agreed as needing correcting, but had not been corrected in the minutes.  (His Strata Manager was responsible for the non correction as she wrote up the Minutes). 

Our EC Secretary had (possibly with the input of the Strata Manager) written to me saying the EC members would consider my complaint that the correction had not been made, and then wrote back a week later with a fob off, which in short said the EC members had considered the matter and the minutes are correct and I should not communicate on this matter again but I could bring it up at the next AGM if I wished. 

The New EC member had no knowledge of any meeting or discussion relating to the incorrect minutes (as he should have) and was annoyed he had been left out. He was probably left out because he declined to sign their Code of Conduct. The EC member communication must have been informal (if they occurred at all) as no 72 hour Notice of EC Meeting was posted, and a 4 day period between advice that the EC members were to be given written notice of my complaint and response to me.    

The Licensee said only that I could take the matter to NCAT, clearly not wanting to be involved.

He did seem a little more interested when he was advised that last year some Lot Owners informally contemplated a change of Strata Manager, and quotes had been obtained. He then spoke of a possible change of Strata Manager might be considered, without giving a commitment.

I then provided him details of the 2 AGM’s which were conducted without a Quorum by the current Strata Manager, & a schedule detailing showing at least 5 years where no Sec / Treasurer / chairman were appointed, noting there did not appear to have been formal EC meetings with minutes held in many years. 

Whale – It appears to me that your comments are totally correct when you say : “there has to be a better alternative to the conventional and largely ineffective processes to ensure that Owners Corporations, like all others, conduct their affairs according to Law”.  Regretfully it appears that Strata Managers can also do pretty much what they want also.

I give up (as does the New EC Member) and will no longer expend time and effort raising matters in order to have things done correctly or attend meetings. I had a similar experience in relation to “Fire Safety” with the Strata Manager & EC where they did had no interest in getting a legal opinion to validate if we actually needed to upgrade the premises to the current Fire standard even though we were a 1975 building (see my post of Building & Mtce / Fire safety Audits 30/12/2015).

Again Whale thanks for your input & common sense appreciation of the dynamics at play  – very much appreciated.  (Winston)

Thanks for your suggestion Jimmy.

The “New EC member” has now listed his unit for sale, but will have an input until he settles.

We considered your first suggestion and concluded that if may be difficult to interest those Owners who traditionally do not attend in sufficient numbers to carry the day, and has less chance of success than the second suggestion.

I contacted a couple of Strata Management on your second point.  The initial response (although not yet final) was:

With this type of appointment, at the end of the term there is usually considerable ill feeling among the those involved (particularly if some were shown up as not doing things properly) and traditionally a small possibility that the Strata Manager appointed as Administrator is likely to be approved to continue as the Strata Manager.  (That is what I would assume would be the reason why someone would  assist in this matter would be looking for).

In our case the SM agreement is on a 30 day termination status, however I expect the current SM will try and lock in a fixed term renewal since he has now been advised some Lot owners are not happy with the service. 

I am advised an EGM will be held soon, which I understand will cover a By-Law changes related to damage to Solid Core door & Fire Door’s to be installed to Lots by owners / tenants, where it will be proposed the Owner be responsible for any damage.

While I will try more SM’s I also must be realistic, and take into account the WIIFM  (What’s in it for me factor).

Again, thanks for your suggestion (Winston).

Thanks Jimmy for your quick response.

I am expecting the SM to put the issue of a new SM agreement on the Agenda at the next GM. The current arrangement is 10 Yrs old, and has been on a 30 day notice for a couple of years now. (I have a copy).

Re: Agenda Item: I am aware of being able to put matters on the agenda but know if done with only about 8 who attend (past records) with most in the camp of the EC I assess they will not pass if I / we put them up.

Re: Replacement doors – re-reading what I wrote- I have conveyed the situation incorrectly – my apology. Apparently “Replacement doors” will be part of a package of measures recommended by a company who assessed the Fire Safety requirements for our buildings. The OC will install them. However the EC wants to make any damage to them for the account of the owner (regardless if owner or tenant caused it).  Not sure if they have sought advice on whether this is able to be done – but that was the intention at the last AGM:

I have just received this E-mail response from one Strata Manager I approached to be involved with an application for Administrator appointment: 

Quote”

For the NCAT to award a compulsory appointment it is generally as a last resort & the Owners Corp requesting this would need to prove that the Executive Committee & or the Owners themselves are in a dysfunctional position.

 I would suggest that 1 of the steps the owners would need to undertake as a minimum would be to hold a EGM or if your AGM is upcoming to put a motion forward to terminate the current Strata Mgmt & to appoint another. If this is defeated you would have at least shown to the Tribunal member that you have tried to terminate the Strata Mgmt & this was not successful. The key to having a compulsory appointment would be to prove that your situation is unworkable.

 To call an EGM you need 25% of financial owners (8 for your strata) to sign a document to call the EGM. You can serve that on your Strata Mgr & he has to call a meeting within 28 days. You can also have a motion to dismiss the current Executive Committee & have a re election.

 We do not generally chase Compulsory appointments & before accepting we would want to see the financial history of the Strata Plan. We would also charge a premium on our Mgmt Fee as the compulsory agent is usually terminated as soon as the period expires.” Unquote

 I have contacted more SM’s & await their response, but consider their response may be similar.

I am not sure how other owners would feel when it comes to extra cost & disruption, Vs doing things correctly. There is also the practical ability to get 8 lot owners to agree to call an EGM in our own right.   It seems you are damned if you do and damned if you don’t.  

This is an update to my last post on this matter that I said I would provide:

Immediately after my last post, I E-mailed Strata Community Australia (SCA), saying I wanted to make a complaint about members:  After a short period I received a response indicating where their complains process could be located (a non-prominent location on their site). 

I E-Mailed back saying that before going through what appeared to be a complex process, I had better be sure and not wast their time, (and mine) and sought confirmation that 2 persons (who’s names & SM companies were provided) were actually members of SCA.

As of today I have not received any response and do not expect to receive one.     

If that actually turns out to be the case it will be another indication of how difficult it is to get anyone to assist with and resolve “Irregularities” relating to Strata Schemes. (The End)