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I am trying to help friends of mine how are experiencing problems getting other lot owners to vote on important issues.
Adjourned meetings cost the owners that do care about their investment. Managers don’t seem to mind as they receive additional fees for the adjourned meeting.
In one case, the building is badly in need of repair and one person cant do it all. The other 11 owners don’t vote, don’t come to meetings and so the issues remain.
In the other, only 3 or 4 owners (out of 73) turn up to the AGM and only a handful send votes. One owner told me that his building pays an onsite Manager to take care of “business” and that he does not have time.
I was speaking to a search agent recently who told me that this is the “norm”
What will be the trigger to make people care ? Obviously they all have far too much money.
Would a discount of say 5% on your levies for each person that either attends or votes be sufficient ? Has any one tried this ?
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Levy payments may be discounted, but in NSW that’s only permissible for Owners’ early payment of their contributions and it’s limited to 10%.
The malaise that you describe is one of the biggest hurdles that Owners Corporations face, and whilst there’s no guarantee, a Motion (in bold) on the Meeting Agenda to increase Levies by 100% may get Owners’ attention!
On a more serious note, if the Meeting’s adjourned due to the lack of a quorum, then 30 minutes after the listed commencement time for the re-convened Meeting, those few Owners with sufficient interest to attend can have their way.
So I don’t see why the lack of interest by the majority is an impediment to the committed few such as your friends to then ensure that their Plan’s property operated, unless the Strata Manager holds sufficient proxies to determine otherwise; but why would a professional Strata Manager do that?
Even if you could do it, the thing about a discount is it is illusory. Say you work out the budget for the year and it is $10,000, i.e. you need $10,000 to meet expenses etc. So you have to raise $10,000 in levies. If you set that budget and everyone gets a 10% discount then you will only raise $9000 and you will have a $1000 shortfall.
Therefore if there is a discount available you factor that into the budget, which you then have to set at a higher figure.
Going back to your friends’ issues, in the case of the one where the other 11 owners don’t attend/vote at meetings, perhaps the best option is for your friend to apply for appointment of a compulsory strata manager, on the grounds that the OC isn’t meeting its section 62 obligations.
Your other friend may also have that option, depending on the state of the building.
At one time it was a standing joke that what would attract a good attendance at one of our AGMs was a naive motion from a newby with a bright idea to change the colour scheme to whatever was currently trendy.
In my exhaustive (exhausting) survey of of the different voting requirements for different states something bubbled to the surface – a kind of distillation of lots of pretty bad ideas into one good one.
Here’s what I would do:
First, forget quorums. A quorum at a general meeting is those who turn up or send proxies.
However, all decisions made by the meeting (except the election of EC members) are “interim”.
The secretary then sends out a sheet listing the motions approved and owners have 14 days to register an objection.
If they get objections from fewer than 50 percent of owners in the case of ordinary resolutions or 25 percent of owners in the case of special resolutions, the Interim decision is approved.
This is based on several other states’ systems … which means it can’t become law here under the Interstate Hubris Act of 1866.
And to take ScotlandX’s point, a discount means very little in the long run and rewards bad behaviour. But what about a fine for not attending or sending a proxy, doubled each year they don’t turn up?
The hip pocket nerve is the most sensitive part of the body corporate.
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.
One way to try and increase attendance at AGM’s is to offer free drinks and nibbles to all who attend!!
Lucky door prizes?
When I suggested free drinks and nibbles, I meant to add available at the conclusion of the AGM.
I also agree that Peter C’s comment about changing the colour scheme would be sure to get a reaction from small to medium size stratas.
My money is on scary agendas. Anything that has the four Ps – pets, parking parties and puffing (OK, smoking) – would get the maximum turnout. How abouta motion to allow owners to leave pets in cars parked in visitor spots while they go to a party and have a smoke on the balcony? Too much?
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.
They have compulsory voting in local elections (except in WA, SA and Tasmania) – why not in strata? It’s not like we are some big club with our own constitutions – strata voting is circumscribed by all sorts of regulations so why not include compulsory voting?
Or how about if you don’t turn up at an AGM you don’t get to make a complaint or raise an issue with the EC for the next year? Hmmm. I guess that would encourage even further disengagement.
So, embracing that idea, how about if you don’t turn up for two AGMs in a row, you are registered as non-involved so your vote isn’t counted in quorums or for special resolutions for the next year?
Nah! That wouldn’t work.
The problem is that there is no clear advantage in getting involved – just lots of disadvantages.
The more I think about it, the better I reckon the “let’s paint the building in rainbow colours” is the way to get those who give a teeny-weeny damn to be more involved.
Just don’t blame me if it passes.
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.
I would prefer compulsory attendance and voting.
Voting of itself does not mean that Owners have heard the discussion and other Owners opinions.
But failing that, this is the scheme I submitted to the GAP Strata Review:
- $100 discount on the next levy payable for Owners who attend in person.
- No discount or surcharge for Owners who attend by nominee or proxy.
- $100 surcharge on the next levy payable for Owners who don’t attend in person, by nominee or by proxy.
This is good (IMHO) as it’s a one-time discount/surcharge on the next levy payable, instead of having to remember to apply a discount over the next 4 quarterly levies. Simple to administer.
Probably no need to take discount/surcharges into account in the budget.
A $200 difference between attending or not.
All of the enticements suggested here have been tried in our block but failed.
Actually, our block (every block?) has shades of Dardanelle Towers.
Our resident “Old Guy” arrived at one AGM carrying a tray of whisky shots, which got the meeeting off to a good start.
In the middle of the discussion on the roof replacement, of which I have written previously, he says “Oh, wait a minute” and hobbles off upstairs to get something.
We idly chit-chatted while waiting patiently for whatever piece of important information he’d forgotten, and back he comes with a platter of freshly-cooked dim-sims.
We didn’t think that dim-sims would be a very durable roof covering, so we went with tiles.
Our block is a typical 1970’s block. You know, cream bricks and mission brown highlights.
One of the owners suggested we brighten up the foyer by painting it mauve or purple. I think he wanted to entice a few young pole-dancers up to his apartment.
The only “scary motion” which might work would be one that hits the hip-pocket nerve.
How about a motion to collect a special levy to commission a twice-life-size bronze statue of Saddam Hussein to be placed on the front lawn?
Maybe the Act should even make this a required motion like approving the Minutes and Financial Reports.
At least you would be able to tell just by driving by whether to buy into a block.
Kangaroo said
…a motion to collect a special levy to commission a twice-life-size bronze statue of Saddam Hussein to be placed on the front lawn?…
Nothing like commissioning public art to get people engaged. How about a statue of a long-standing chair of the EC? in an heroic pose?
On a more serious note. How about trying something actually worthwhile and a good idea? We got way more involvement than we would have liked when we proposed a solar panel array for the roof of a carport on common property. It was a no-brainer good idea. It eventually went through with a 85% support but only on the third try (after lesser majorities on the previous attempts) and after a change in the ACT Unit Titles legislation. Now our electricity cost for lighting a very large area of common property is approximately zero but back in 2009 it sounded like a dangerously radical idea to some.
If your good idea gets up without engaging any of the apathetic, that’s OK because it was a good idea. If it engages the apathetic that could be good too-though be careful what you wish for…!
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