These question from NSW Lot Owners about positions on the executive committee have been responded to by Leanne Habib, Premium Strata.
Question: How long can a strata committee member or chairperson hold positions on the executive committee? Also, can the committee engage designers without lot owners agreeing to this appointment?
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Answer: There is nothing to stop the same office bearers/members from being re-elected.
As you may know, the number of members is determined annually at each AGM and the positions filled at the strata committee meeting held immediately thereafter. So, theoretically, positions on the executive committee are retained from year to year and there is nothing to stop the same office bearers/members from being re-elected (subject to the number of members not being reduced and none of them being removed or retiring or selling etc).
It is not unusual for office bearers to keep being re-elected from year to year if they carry out their functions effectively.
In terms of a designer, generally, if you mean an ordinary contractor to be engaged by the Owners Corporation, a strata committee can appoint one unless the owners corporation makes a decision which overrides it or unless, before the committee makes a decision, lot owners, comprising more than a third of the unit entitlements give notice of opposition to the making of a decision.
However, any change of design / overall appearance of the lot will require a special resolution at a general meeting
This post appears in Strata News #208.
Question: What do we do when we have a Strata executive committee resignation en masse from their positions? At least 3 members of our 4 person Executive Committee (including president & treasurer) are about to resign!
I am sure a mass Strata executive committee resignation has happened somewhere before. I have been discretely informed that at least 3 members of our 4 person Executive Committee (including president & treasurer) are about to resign from holding their positions! This is only a couple of months into their anticipated one year term.
This situation has arisen because of the Executive Committee’s inability to accommodate requests from residents to have certain matters reviewed and put to a vote. There are as expected personalities involved, half the Executive Committee have exaggerated opinions of their role as elected dictators of our strata community. Therefore simple requests are ruled out of order based on any excuses they can muster.
Anyway it has (as anticipated come to a head) one belligerent & obstructive individual is trying to retain their 10 year control, and there is much ill feeling within the Executive Committee and disruption among the bewildered few who are not members of the Executive Committee and eager to make progress on behalf of the community at large.
When each Strata executive committee resignation is tabled (possibly within 48 hours), what happens next to ensure things return to an even keel and move forward?
Update: As anticipated resignations are flowing fast, Secretary and Treasurer have resigned from their positions this morning. I have so far managed to get our President (and our fourth member) to put their letters of resignation on hold. This may not last the day?
A committee meeting announced yesterday and (scheduled for tomorrow), has just been cancelled.
We need to appoint new people quickly to put our strata back on course!
As of an hour or so ago, all we have left is a President!
She is also unclear as what should now be her first step to recruit some fresh new members.
Answer: If your entire strata committee resigns, you may make an application to NCAT for the Tribunal to order that a person convene a general meeting of the Owners Corporation.
Basically, if your entire strata committee resigns from their positions, you may make an application to NCAT under Section 48 Strata Schemes Management Act, 2015, for the Tribunal to order that a person convene a general meeting of the Owners Corporation.
Generally, the vacancies would be filled under Sections 35 & 45 of the SSMA but as there is no strata committee to fill the vacancies, this would not be an option for you.
Also, as the scheme is clearly dysfunctional, you may make an application to NCAT for the compulsory appointment of a strata managing agent. In this instance, there would be no strata committee or Owners Corporation’s meetings and only the compulsorily appointed agent would make all decisions by itself for the usual period of 12 months (but up to 24 months).
This post appears in Strata News #167.
Question: Is it permissible for a tenant and a landlord of the same unit to hold positions on the executive committee?
In our strata, there was a proposal put to the executive committee. The tenant and owner of the same unit want to hold positions of chairman and secretary of the executive committee.
Is this permissible and/or advisable? If so, does the appointment need to be formally voted on at an executive committee meeting?
Answer: No this is not permissible. Only one of them can seek nomination.
No this is not permissible. The tenant (non-owner) can only be nominated by an owner who is not seeking election. Only one of them, either the tenant or the landlord, can seek the nomination for a position on the executive committee.
Read Next
- NSW: Q&A – When the body corporate chairman resigns before the AGM
- NSW: Q&A Can Tenants Attend Strata Meetings?
- NSW Fair Trading: Strata Committee
- NSW: Q&A Who Can Hold Executive Committee Positions on Owners Corporation?
This post appears in Strata News #134.
Leanne Habib
Premium Strata
P: 02 9281 6440
E: [email protected]
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This article is not intended to be personal advice and you should not rely on it as a substitute for any form of advice.
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Have a question about positions on the executive committee or something to add to the article? Leave a comment below.
I am not entirely sold on the quality of this answer as it is possible for both a tenant and a landlord to end up on the executive committee and to hold the positions of Chair and Secretary.
At no point is it clear the landlord (owner) is nominating the tenant and if the tenant is nominated by another owner, who them-self is not running for election, then the scenario could play out and they both can end up on the SC. I see the author of the answer would be aware of this.
I’m not entirely sure what the ‘strata’ is doing in having the Strata Committee (no longer the EC) address such a proposal.
I think the question is vague and shows some degree of naivety and i think the answer is a little narrow.
‘Joe Average’ walks away from this Q&A thinking the tenant and owner cannot be on the SC but in fact there is a way they can.
This response has been received from Leanne Habib, Premium Strata:
Noted your comments to the subject Q& A and provide the further following comments:
Section 31 SSMA 2015 clearly states: “Persons who are eligible to be appointed or elected to strata committee
(1) The following persons are eligible for appointment or election to the strata committee of an owners corporation:
(a) an individual who is a sole owner of a lot in the strata scheme,
(b) a company nominee of a corporation that is a sole owner of a lot in the strata scheme,
(c) an individual who is a co-owner of a lot or a company nominee of a corporation that is a co-owner of a lot in the strata scheme, if the person is nominated for election by an owner who is not a co-owner of the lot or by a co-owner of the lot who is not a candidate for election as a member,
(d) an individual who is not an owner of a lot in the strata scheme, if the person is nominated for election by an owner of a lot who is not a member, or is not seeking election as a member, of the strata committee.
The response prepared above operates on the assumption that it is the owner nominating his own tenant. That is a fair assumption. Why would another owner want to nominate someone else’s tenant? That stated, if you could find another owner who did want to nominate the other owner’s tenant (and if all the other pre-conditions were satisfied) you could arrive at a situation when the landlord and tenant of the same lot were on the strata committee.
Trust the above provides further clarification.
I am a little confused about the answer to the question put forward. The question was “The tenant and owner of the same unit want to hold positions of chairman and secretary of the executive committee. Is this permissible and/or advisable?” Correct me if I am wrong, but it is permissible on the basis that the initial election to the committee for both owner & tenant was done in accordance with the Act where the owner nominated themselves to be a committee member and the tenant was nominated by another owner who was not seeking election to the committee. The context of the question appears to ask whether the Owner & tenant of the same lot can be office bearers (Chairman & Secretary) if elected to the Strata Committee in accordance with the Act. To add further, this appointment as Office Bearers does need to be formally voted on at a Strata Committee meeting where the motion to elect Office Bearers has been placed on the agenda.
Hi Anthony Montibeler
Thank you for your question. We have received the following reply back from Leanne Habib, Premium Strata:
In short, a tenant and landlord can only be appointed officers of the strata committee if a third party lot owner nominates the tenant and the landlord nominates himself if eligible to self-nominate.
In practice, the rules on eligibility are to stop eg husbands, wives and related parties from dominating the strata committee, so in my view it would be unlikely for a lot owner (who is otherwise eligible for nomination) to surrender his own right to be on the strata committee in favour of a tenant whose landlord is also on the committee. But as mentioned in an earlier post (below) if you could find another owner who did want to nominate the other owner’s tenant (and if all the other pre-conditions were satisfied) you could arrive at a situation when the landlord and tenant of the same lot were on the strata committee.
Further I confirm the election of the strata committee must take place at the Annual General Meeting, however the election of office bearers is conducted at a Strata Committee Meeting. Generally the first Strata Committee meeting held after the Annual General Meeting.