Question: After many requests to our strata manager, the Executive Committee finally received the strata roll, although details are incomplete. The only way to communicate to all lot owners is by going through the Strata Manager. Is this usual?
The Executive Committee of our strata asked through the right channels to receive the strata roll from the Strata Managers. After many excuses mostly regarding privacy laws, we finally got some watered-down and incomplete details. In particular, we did not receive the owner’s details (e.g. emails and phone numbers) for the apartments that are rented, which is what we had requested.
In case of emergencies or if the committee wishes to communicate any information to all the owners, we can’t do it. The only way is to go through the Strata Managers.
I am the Secretary of the committee and when trying to relay important information, it’s delayed because we don’t have all the owners information. We believe that the Strata Manager should provide us with the full and complete details of the strata roll. Is this a reasonable assumption?
Answer: The information may be missing from the strata roll for a reason.
One of the duties of the Secretary of a Strata Committee is to maintain the Strata Roll (in accordance with section 43(c) of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (‘the Act’)), and therefore the Secretary has the right to obtain a copy of it from the Strata Managing Agent.
Anybody else wishing to obtain a copy can do so via an inspection of the records. It is section 182(3)(a) of the Act that requires this to be given as part of the records to be inspected.
Section 178 of the Act then prescribes what information must be included in the strata roll, which is:
- the name of the holder of the estate in fee simple in the lot (in the case of a freehold strata scheme) or the holder of the leasehold estate in the lot (in the case of a leasehold strata scheme),
- an address for service of notices,
- an Australian postal address, and an email address if the holder has one, if not provided as the address for service,
- the name of the holder’s agent (if any) appointed in accordance with this Act and the agent’s address for service of notices,
- information provided under a strata interest notice,
- information provided under a tenancy notice.
As we see, only the name and address (either postal or email – whichever they have chosen to give) of an owner must be recorded along with any information given either under a strata interest (or “section 22”) notice or tenancy notice.
Furthermore, the information required to be given with a strata interest notice is clarified under section 22 of the Act, being:
- the person’s full name and an address for service of notices,
- the lot concerned and the exact nature of the person’s interest in it,
- the date on which the person acquired the interest,
- if the voting entitlement conferred by the interest is one that, according to this Act, is to be exercised by a nominee, the nominee’s full name and address for service of notices.
Similarly, for a tenancy notice given under section 258 of the Act, the following information must be given:
- the name of the tenant and an address for service of the tenant, and
- the date of commencement or assignment of the lease or sublease, as the case requires, and
- the name of any agent acting for the owner in respect of the lease or sublease.
There’s no mention in any of the legislation about the phone numbers of owners/tenants needing to be given, or email addresses for tenants. An owner may have volunteered the phone numbers in addition to the above mentioned requirements, so if they did, then that too should be recorded on the strata roll (as the legislation regarding what must be recorded on the strata roll includes “information provided under a strata interest notice” or tenancy notice).
The same applies to email addresses unless the owner has given their email address as their address for service of notice (instead of a postal address).
Therefore, this information may be missing from the strata roll for a reason.
However, it is not uncommon for a Strata Managing Agent to have been given contact information of residents during the performance of their duties and to record that information for the purpose of managing the strata scheme. In that event, there should be no reason not to give this to the Secretary as it would form part of the Owners Corporations’ records anyway (so long as the information was given to them by choice of the person whose information it is, otherwise it may be a breach of their privacy) even though it may not form part of the strata roll.
Lastly, the private contact information of anyone should not be given out unless it is strictly being done in the process of managing the owners corporation (for example, giving a tenants number to a tradesman to arrange access for repairs). It should not be shared with the Committee or others as that would constitute a breach of privacy.
This post appears in the December 2021 edition of The NSW Strata Magazine.
Tim Sara Sara Strata E: tim@sarastrata.com.au P: 04 8500 7960