Rogue developer/ managing agent

I moved into a brand new 36 lot development in December last year. All bar 3 lots were sold by the developer by February. The developer made a couple of attempts to hold the first AGM earlier in the year but they were either cancelled or abandoned due to insufficient notice being given. In the mean time the management of the building has been appalling: the managing agent (run by the same people as the developer) is very difficult to contact, the staff have poor English. The accounts presented don’t provide any transparency. Levy notices are often issued up to a month late. There is a majority of lot owners who support the appointment of a professional managing agent.

The first AGM was held last week. While the majority of persons present were supportive of a new managing agent, several lot owners were denied a vote by the managing agent / developer due to unpaid levies. This allowed them to pass all motions is their favour and appoint friendly lot owners to the EC. While the levies were notified to all owners in the s 109 certificate when they purchased, no opportunity to approve the levies has been provided to the general meeting in the last 9 or 10 months. Residents have stopped paying their levies due to the total lack of transparency and accountability.

I have a pending application with the CTTT to convene the first AGM based on the original owner’s failure to do so. Does anyone have any advice as to whether this application may still succeed? I wondered whether the refusal to count votes based on unpaid levies which were never approved by the general meeting may invalidate the meeting.

I have read somewhere that the relevant date for deteminging outstanding levies is the date the notice is given for the meeting. Is there any truth to this comment as the most recent levy notice was only sent 9 days before so the levies would not have been due whe the meeting notice was sent.

Apologies for the long blurb – would appreciate any advice you may be able to give.