Question: Our third quarter levy notice revealed a discrepancy between the AGM approved levy amounts and the calculations in the lot budget summary. The committee voted to issue updated AGM minutes to show the change. Is this reasonable?
When the body corporate levies notice for the third quarter of the financial year was issued, it became apparent there was an error involving the GST component of the calculations for quarterly payments displayed in the AGM agenda. The quarterly levy amounts approved by the body corporate at the AGM did not agree with the calculations in the lot budget summary.
The committee voted to issue updated AGM minutes with amendments to the approved quarterly amounts.
Is this a compliant solution, or should approval of the amendments to the quarterly levy amounts be decided by the body corporate at an EGM?
Answer: It sounds like you have thought through the options and arrived at a fair and manageable solution for owners.
With the caveat that we don’t have all the details, this approach sounds reasonable.
Sometimes, there are problems with a meeting notice or the minutes, and issuing amended minutes to rectify that is standard practice.
Here, it sounds like you have thought through the options and arrived at a fair and manageable solution for owners.
The key thing is to provide a clear explanation to all owners as to why the amendment is being made and its impact. Mostly, people understand if they know how and why something has happened. Accompanying the amended minutes with a letter from the committee/body corporate manager may be the best way to do it. It may also be worth holding a VOC or recording a committee minute before the amendment to confirm that the change to the minutes is a majority decision of the committee.
If there is a major financial impact, you may also need to consider providing owners with some leeway if they struggle to make any additional payments.
After that, owners have the right to complain if they are unhappy, and you may have to do a bit of work talking to disgruntled owners to smooth things over. Owners have the right to make formal complaints and even seek adjudication if unsatisfied. Maybe a court would have a different opinion to the above, but alternatives may involve jumping through some legislative hoops to arrive at the same outcome. If a clean and simple solution is available, it is usually worth taking it.
This post appears in the February 2024 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.
William Marquand
Tower Body Corporate
E: willmarquand@towerbodycorporate.com.au
P: 07 5609 4924
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