Question: A committee has refused to share the building manager’s report with owners. Should it be circulated with the minutes?
Our building manager’s report is tabled at committee meetings. Should it also be circulated in full with the minutes?
Our committee has refused to let the body corporate manager upload these reports to the portal for owners to access.
Answer: There is no obligation for the committee to send out the report, but owners can still access it by searching the body corporate’s books and records.
There is no obligation for the committee to send out the report, but on the other hand, why wouldn’t they? Some committees may worry about distribution costs, but you are saying here that the committee refuses even to allow it to be posted on the portal.
Committees that seek to limit this kind of basic information disclosure will reasonably find themselves questioned, as owners will wonder what ‘secret information’ is being excluded from them. There may be specific circumstances as to why the report may not be presentable, but if owners are asking questions about this, the committee should advise.
Otherwise, as an owner, you could arrange to do a search of the books and records and access the report that way. You could also ask the building manager for a copy. Maybe you could submit a committee motion or motion to the next general meeting asking that these documents be sent to owners with the minutes, or at least posted online.
And, if you really want things to be different, perhaps you could nominate for the committee at the next opportunity and start changing the way your scheme is being run.
This post appears in Strata News #812.
William Marquand Tower Body Corporate E: willmarquand@towerbodycorporate.com.au P: 07 5609 4924
