We have a council member emailing the strata company to the point of harassment — what are our legal options?

As a preliminary point, we assume that the term ‘strata company’ is intended to refer to the strata manager (which can be a strata management company). The term strata company refers to the one that all lot owners are part of. This response uses the term ‘strata manager’ as being the party engaged by the strata company to manage assorted tasks on the instructions of the council of owners of the strata company.

There are various things that Sarah and her fellow council members could consider doing, including:

• checking the contract between the strata manager and the strata company. There may be some provision in it that restricts communication or instructions. Perhaps only the secretary or chairperson of the council is authorised to give directions or communicate with the strata manager.
• checking the minutes of meetings of the council. It may have passed some resolution that states which of the council members has authority to communicate with the strata manager directly. Once again, it might be the chairperson or the secretary.

These should be explored first. If the right clauses or resolutions are in place, they should hopefully provide a clear basis for informing the council member that he is she should cease contacting the strata manager.

Only if these do not work, should the council then consider preparing for a dispute between the strata company and the particular council member.

If the performance of the strata manager is considered to be poor, then it is a matter for the council to review that performance against specific clauses in the strata management contract between the strata company and the strata manager.

Disclaimer: This comment contains references to and general summaries of the relevant law and does not constitute legal advice. The law may change and circumstances may differ from reader to reader. Therefore, you should seek legal advice for your specific circumstances.