Would you elect a tenant to your committee?

Due to having six out of eight of the units in your block occupied by tenants, under Section 7 of the NSW strata Regulations and section 33 of the strata Act, your secretary MUST convene a meeting every year at which tenants can nominate a representative to the strata committee.

Tenants are eligible for election as tenants’ rep if their lease has been registered with the scheme.  Not registering tenants is a breach of Section 258 of the NSW strata Act and is subject to a maximum fine of $550.

As you will see from section 33 of the Act, they have no voting power and can be excluded from certain discussions.

FROM THE REGULATIONS

 7. Tenant representatives: section 33 of Act
(1) A person who is entitled to convene an annual general meeting of an owners corporation that has tenants for at least half of the number of lots in the scheme must convene a meeting of eligible tenants for the purpose of the nomination of a person for the position of tenant representative on the strata committee.
(2) The person must give notice of the meeting to each eligible tenant at least 14 days before the annual general meeting and the tenants meeting may be held at any time before the annual general meeting, but not earlier than 7 days after notice of the meeting is given.
(3) Notice may be given in one of the following ways:
(a) by causing a copy of the notice to be prominently displayed on any notice board required to be maintained by or under the by-laws on some part of the common property,
(b) by written notice given to each eligible tenant.
(4) The convenor of the meeting, or a tenant nominated by the eligible tenants present at the meeting, is to chair the tenants meeting.
(5) An eligible tenant may nominate for, or nominate another eligible tenant for, nomination as the tenant representative at the meeting.
(6) The tenant representative to be nominated by the eligible tenants for a strata scheme is to be determined by majority vote of tenants present at the meeting.
(7) The quorum for the meeting is one person.
(8) The term of a tenant representative commences at the end of the annual general meeting at which the nomination is received.
(9) A person is an eligible tenant for the purposes of this Part if the tenant is a tenant notified in a tenancy notice given in accordance with the Act.

FROM THE ACT

33   Tenant representatives

(1)  This section applies to a strata scheme if there are tenants (being tenants notified in a tenancy notice given in accordance with this Act) for at least half of the number of lots in the scheme.

(2)  The tenants of lots in a strata scheme (being tenants notified in a tenancy notice given in accordance with this Act) may nominate one tenant representative for the strata committee.

(3)  The tenant representative on a strata committee, in that capacity—

(a)  is not entitled to vote on decisions of the committee or to put a motion or nominate a person for office, and

(b)  is not entitled to act as an officer of the owners corporation for committee purposes, and

(c)  cannot be counted in determining whether there is a quorum of the committee.

(4)  The strata committee, at any meeting or for the purpose of all meetings, may determine that a tenant representative is not entitled to be present when the following matters are being discussed or determined—

(a)  financial statements and auditor’s reports,

(b)  levying of contributions,

(c)  recovery of unpaid contributions,

(d)  a strata renewal proposal under Part 10 of the Strata Schemes Development Act 2015 or any related matter,

(e)  any other financial matter specified by the regulations.

(5)  The regulations may provide for the procedures for nomination of a tenant representative, including the term for which a tenant representative is appointed, the notification of an appointment and the end of an appointment.