Executive Committee Members corresponding

gslatts said:

Is it usual for all EC communiations, including voting, to be carried out via email?

This is a common enough way of getting day-to-day decisions made but every so often you need to have an EC meeting to formally approve and minute all decisions (if for no other reason than owners can't attend an email round robin).

Shouldn't concerns in relation to unit owners be sent to the strata manager who would then decide on how to respond?

This is really not the strata manager's job.  They are there to facilitate the running of the building – collect levies, pay bills and advise on procedure – not manage it or owners.

If someone is making unfair or defamatory comments about you in an email group, they can sued for defamation (even if the comments are true).  And the good thing about emails is that you have written evidence of what they are saying.  But suing a neighbour for defamation is a bit sad, really (and bloody expensive).

It may be better to establish a protocol for your email group that prevents personal attacks, bullying and other abuses. Then the defamer can be pulled up by others in the group whenever they cross the line.

Your EC insurance probably doesn't cover someone who is defaming other owners by email so all concerned need to calm down a bit and think about how the recipients are going to feel before they hit the “send” button.

'gslatts' and Jimmy, there are nine EC members; bar emergencies, surely doing things properly with a legitimate quorum at a properly convened but relaxed and informal EC meeting would solve the problem in a better way.

Executive Committee business being conducted by email and decisions being made, including some very important ones probably, mean nothing will be on file with the Strata Manager. It's all very well to have the best intentions of ratifying decisions at meetings but in practise I bet that would seldom happens. And doing this retrospectively is probably wrong.

'gslatts', what could you have possibly done to earn this EC member's ire?

When I was on our EC we did most of our correspondence via email between committee members.  If we did not we would have not achieved anything.  Most of the committee members worked full time.  At least with an email, they can perhaps answer whilst at work if not at home.  Only with the really big decisions did we have a meeting if only so that we could get everyones input/ideas/suggestions on the matter.  Sometimes what seems like a good idea/decision may not be when someone points out the negatives in it and you can't have those discussions via email.

However the EC did not correspondence directly with residents via email.  We encouraged residents to send emails to the SM to be forwarded or copy sent to EC.  And the EC did the same, sent emails to residents via SM.  In that way, there was a recorded copy on file of any discussions/problem/issues.   It worked well.  If we had to have a meeting for every decision in the place, it would have taken months for each and every matter.

Urban Spaceman said:

These days, Jimmy, you seem to be living in some sort of strata Utopia; probably the same one as Struggler.

I don’t think there can be anybody (even Struggler) who is more aware of the problems living in Strata than I am .  I’m the one who gets all the emails and reads all the postings and have been doing so for the past seven years.

Here’s a few points for you to consider …

If you have problems with your neighbours in a house – noise, abuse and all the other elements of antisocial behaviour, you are on your own.

If anyone’s strata is that bad they can always move out.  There are plenty of buildings that run smoothly … or they can get a house.

The issues you are concerned about aren’t strata problems, they are people problems and the strata industry is maturing to the point where the bad apples are gradually being rooted out and a level of professionalism is taking over.  But this is not going to happen overnight.

I too have seen the gossip mongers flourish and manipulate Executive Committees.  I have seen nutters come and go (and been accused of being one myself).  I’ve seen by-laws flouted and individuals targetted by mean-spirited and selfish owners.

I have encountered corrupt ECs in my own building and helped to clear them out.  I have run campaigns to counter damaging cost-cutting by people who’d bought the best apartments in the building at bargain prices and then tried to reduce services to the bare bone so they didn’t have to pay very reasonable levies.

I’ve even been instrumental in getting the law changed so that developers couldn’t demand proxy votes as a condition of their contracts of sale. So please don’t tell me I have anything but a very clear view of the potential pitfalls of strata living.

I’ve been there, my friend, and done it.  And along the way, in this job, I think I’ve heard every horror story there is.

But I’m also very pragmatic. Australia is still getting used to a way of life that has been evolving in Europe since Roman times.  Even so, most people try to do the right thing most of the time.

But I’ve just started revising my Apartment Living book and I was shocked at how angry I was, ten years ago when it was written.

Maybe strata living has calmed down in the last decade or maybe I have – probably a bit of both. No system is perfect – you just have to make the best of what you’ve got and I still wouldn’t live any other way.

Well Gilgal1, Jimmy, Struggler, nobody really knows who our Executive Committee are here (except for me because I am what Jimmy might call a ‘sady or a mady’ in his new pragmatic persona). They don’t have meetings, they do everything by email, so others don’t know what’s going on. They don’t put things on the noticeboard. They don’t maintain the common property. The treasurer’s noisy renos (with supposed concrete spalling repairs paid for by the OC) commenced at 7am one day with no warning to others, following ion from his illegal renovation to his balcony door – he pleaded ignorance and a retrospective by-law at the next GM will ratify his illegal reno. The Secretary has paved a section of common property outside his unit with no permission. Three quarters of the EC are passengers; they don’t even realise they are supposed to do anything. Every resident who has a problem is told to email the rude Strata Manager, ‘Fob Off Fred’. It took 8 months and many communications to have a fallen eave repaired. The roof was infested with pigeons. 

There are many other problems. The carpets need cleaning, the trees need lopping… I could go on. Did I mention there’s a phalanx of proxies controlling things and marginalisation of anyone rocking the boat?

What do you suggest? The OFT? The CTTT? No thanks, too time consuming, potentially costly and no guarantees of ‘the correct decision’ being arrived at. Oh yes, organise a coup at the next AGM? You’d be a marked man if you weren’t already.

Oh yes… everything is peaches and cream here in strata land, guys.

Jimmy, maintain the rage. Don’t soften up your book. Make it angrier.

PS Our finances are healthy. No problems paying for the Treasurers… err… concrete spalling repairs. I understand it’s unusual having… err… concrete spalling problems on out top floor, where he lives.