Question: If the Strata Manager is not assisting, how and when can we request to replace this person?
Answer: Speak to their direct report, licensee in charge, team leader, and explain some of your concerns.
I’ll assume you’re on the strata committee, because if you’re an owner and the strata committee is working with the strata manager there may be misalignment between what you think they’re doing versus what the strata committee is doing. The strata committee may not want to be doing some of the things that you’re requesting.
If you’ve got a problem with your Strata Manager, first speak to their direct report, licensee in charge, team leader, and explain some of your concerns. In my experience, concerns are usually about responsiveness or actioning items. They may be behind which may be a resourcing thing or COVID, I’m not really sure. Their direct report may be able to do a manager swap.
If their response is, “No. Joanne’s the best strata manager in here, and we’re not changing”, then I would say, “Okay, that’s fine. But just putting you on notice that things need to improve. If it doesn’t, we’ll be looking at other options once the contract is expiring. We would prefer to work with you. However, if Joanne doesn’t lift her game, then we’re moving on”. That’ll, hopefully, get things moving in the right direction.
Also, I would provide the manager with a list of outstanding items. It’s one thing to say “We don’t like Joanne, she doesn’t know what she’s doing”. But if you say ‘”We need these items actioned”, normally, the manager would be able to help you follow those things through to bring everything back up to date. You can then move forward and hopefully live happily ever after.
You’re better off to try and work with the people you’ve got rather than constantly chopping and changing, unless there’s a genuine reason for change.
This post appears in the September 2022 edition of The NSW Strata Magazine.
Rod Smith The Strata Collective E: rsmith@thestratacollective.com.au P: 02 9879 3547