Who pays to remove a non-compliant screen door in NSW strata?

By admin,

I purchased a unit two years ago. An outward opening screen door was in place when I purchased the unit. I received an email from strata advising that the screen door contravenes the fire safety regulation and the must be removed. Do I need to pay for the removal, or can I object? As the screen door has been in place for years, who is responsible for the removal cost?

Can the president refuse to update a committee member?

By admin,

I am a committee member. Our committee meets once every 3 months. It has been two months since our last meeting. I sent an email to the president asking for an update on items that were outstanding at the last meeting and how they were progressing. I was told to wait until the meeting (which is 6 weeks away) to receive an update.

Can the president refuse to give an interested committee member an update? What can I do about the failure to update me when I have requested an update?

Can executive committee members be paid for their work?

By admin,

I'm on the EC of a large building in Canberra and a number of EC members undertake substantial work in order to discharge their duties.

We also struggle to recruit new members to the EC, possibly because it's effectively a volunteer role with a sometimes onerous time commitment.

We have discussed very broadly the possibility of providing remuneration to EC members who make substantial time commitments to their roles, either through agreed payment for work or alternative incentives such as reduction of strata levies.

Does the chair have a leadership role over the executive committee?

By admin,

My reading of the Act suggests that the chair is just that - a person to chair meetings and liaise between the other office holders and Strata Manager.

It appears that many people view the chair as a leadership position to be the first point of contact and to make final decisions on all matters, which appear to end up being unilateral decisions by the chair in our EC. This person is also making unilateral decisions about what public records are kept and what are not, at the moment overriding my role as a record keeper (Sec) in the EC.

Is an executive committee valid if election rules aren’t followed?

By admin,

Is an Executive Committee legally elected if the election process does not comply with the Owners Corporation rules?

We have the following Owners Corporation Rule and it was not complied with -

8.3(iii) that nominations from unit owners must be received prior to 5 pm, 30 calendar days prior to the holding of the AGM.

I wrote to our Strata Manager to ask if this rule had been complied with prior to the recent AGM and he stated No, as it was too difficult to implement this rule.

Can a joint owner respond to executive committee matters?

By admin,

I own a unit in a strata Class A complex.

  1. If a unit is in joint names and one of the owners nominates and is elected to the executive committee, does the other owner have the right to respond to executive committee issues eg approval of expenditures?
  2. If an executive committee member owns two units, does this give them two votes on the committee, similar to their two votes on the owners corporation?

How do you fill a casual vacancy on the executive committee?

By admin,

We have four executive committee members in our 24-unit complex. One executive committee member resigned when they sold their unit. An owner wants to fill the vacancy. How do we elect them to the committee?

We have a very litigious owner who constantly takes the EC to ACAT. We want to ensure we do everything correctly so we don’t end up in ACAT.

Can a tenant serve on an executive committee?

By admin,

We're a small group of Class B townhouses in Canberra. Like many other owners corporations, we have trouble getting people involved in the executive committee (EC).

We have a wonderful tenant who wants to be involved. Is there a way we can harness this individual's willingness?

Could they be a non-voting member of the EC? If so, would they need to be nominated and elected at the AGM along with other EC members, or could someone elected to the EC nominate them at an EC meeting?