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Hi, just after clarification, NSW strata, self managed, the secretary/treasurer keeps issuing letters to other units on strata letterhead about petty issues, with no consultation with owners committee or owners corporation in regards to these issues. So my question is, who is allowed to use strata letterhead, and should this be in consultation with other owners ?
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Formal letters purporting to represent the Owners Corporation should be approved by the committee, not issued unilaterally by the secretary or treasurer.
That said, as a treasurer, I occasionally sent an informal and friendly reminder/explanation note about levies before the more formal correspondence from the managing agent would be received, particularly if the owner was new and might not understand the process, and I did not always run that by the committee. However, I did report to the committee on how many owners were behind on levies and I did tell them whenever I had sent such notes.
I don’t think NSW has a code of conduct for committee members but in the ACT, creating a nuisance over petty matters while purporting to represent a decision of the committee (which exercises the functions of the owners corporation) would be contrary to the code of conduct.
Agree with Sir Humphrey. Most strata committees will use their official stationary responsibly but if it is being misused then you need to adopt a set of rules (there are no relevant laws or codes of conduct in NSW).
The committee can agree to restrict its use to official communications with authorities, or approved communications with residents, following agreement at committee. That should dial it down a little.
The problem may be, however, an over-zealous secretary who could resent being reined in. That’s a whole other issue that may have to be handled diplomatically, especially if there isn’t anyone else prepared to take over the role.
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