Question: A lot owner has made a qualified request for a general meeting. His motion does not include any item to be voted on. Can he pick the time and place of the meeting?
A lot owner has made a qualified request for a general meeting. He has presented a document of 1680 words which he is calling the motion, but so far the motion does not contain a resolution or statement to be voted on.
The strata committee has asked for the motion to be amended to include a resolution and provided a link to the example on the LookUpStrata site.
The lot owner has sent an email to all other owners stating the time and date of the meeting (in 9 days’ time) but no agenda has been completed yet or sent to lot owners due to the ‘motion’ not containing a resolution to vote on. Does the ‘…14 days after receipt of a qualified request’ still apply?
Is a lot owner (who is not a committee member) able to set a time and date for a general meeting?
Answer: The lot owner who issued the qualified request does not get to choose the time and place for the meeting.
The obligation on the secretary is to include the motion as written, assuming it also contains an explanatory note. If the motion is defective (for example there is nothing to vote on), then the Chairperson can rule it out of order at the relevant meeting, under Schedule 1 clause 19, as it would be unenforceable. It is not the strata committee’s job to fix up defective motions.
For the qualified request, the necessary percentage of owners need to sign it (25% of the unit entitlement).
The lot owner who issued the qualified request does not get to choose the time and place for the meeting. This is done by the Secretary, whose role it is to convene the meeting under section 19(2) (and generally).
This post appears in the December 2022 edition of The NSW Strata Magazine.
James Moir
Madison Marcus
E: Strata@madisonmarcus.com.au
P: 02 8022 1222
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