Question: If an owner submits a proposal and the majority vote to reject the proposal, is the Committee obligated to explain why it has been rejected?
If an owner submits a proposal to the Committee meeting, and the majority vote to reject the proposal, is the Committee obligated to explain why it has been rejected other than “rejected by majority vote”?
If the answer is yes they must provide context. How are they to communicate this context – through meeting minutes, or any other form of communication?
Answer: The Committee is required to make reasonable decisions and if it doesn’t provide some explanation for decision making, the more likely it is that the decision will be seen as unreasonable.
Technically, the Committee is not required to provide an explanation – the motion should be self-explanatory and all the committee needs to do is vote on the matter and record the vote.
However, the Committee is required to make reasonable decisions and if it doesn’t provide some explanation for the decision making the more likely it is that the decision will be seen as unreasonable. Owners might challenge the decision via the Commissioner’s offer and it might be overturned. There may be some community rancor if it was felt that the Committee was just making high-handed decisions.
As such, it would usually be recommended for some explanation to be provided. It doesn’t need to be lengthy, but should contain a rationale as to why the proposal was not appropriate. This might help provide guidance to the applicant and other owners as to what is required to submit a successful motion in the future. Hopefully, it will also help committee-owner relations. If owners can see that the Commitee have reasonably considered the proposal, they are more likely to be happy with the job they are doing.
As to whether the advice should be formal or informal, there is no requirement either way as there is no requirement to give the advice, but good Committees will judge the situation and make a choice in the best interests of the scheme and applicant. If they are seeking to set a precedent or baseline for future applications, it might be best to put the advice in the minutes so it could be referred to in the future. If it was a more delicate matter, a quiet word might suit.
This post appears in the October 2022 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.
William Marquand
Tower Body Corporate
E: willmarquand@towerbodycorporate.com.au
P: 07 5609 4924
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