@Minky72 said:
So does that include the annual general meeting? When you are voting for the EC? And if so would that mean you’d need 12 other owners to vote against the proxy farmer?
Proxy votes of the kind you mention are only valid at a general meeting. You can’t get someone electing themselves on to the EC and then saying they have 10 votes. (There is a different kind of proxy for EC meetings, which basically means an EC member can ask another member or an other owner to vote on their behalf).
Otherwise, yes, you have to have more votes that the proxy holder and his or her supporters to outvote them at a general meeting.
But there are two things you should remember.
Any owner who is allowed to vote at a general meeting (ie, you have paid your levies) can call for a poll vote, where you decide by adding up unit entitlements rather than just a show of hands – this can change everything, especially in a tight vote.
Secondly, you can persuade some of the proxies to give you their votes. A new proxy vote on the prescribed form rescinds all previous proxies.
And you can challenge the validity of the proxies if they are not on the prescribed forms or challenge them on the basis that either they or the proxy holders haven’t paid their levies (and they can’t just pay up on the night).
You can download the prescribed proxy form for NSW HERE. Any proxy that isn’t on this form (or a close approximation of it, such as one provided by the strata manager) is not valid.
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.