Question: If motions are for the expenditure of body corporate funds, do they always need to include a quotes?
Our body corporate manager has, ahead of our AGM, issued a notice to all owners – REQUISITION FOR INCLUSION OF MOTION ON AGENDA FOR ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING. That notice includes a footnote stating: If the motion is considering the expenditure of body corporate funds, you MUST include the cost or provide quotes.
BCCMA (Accommodation Module) Regulation 2020
S.163 Quotes for major spending decided at general meeting states:
- This section applies if—
- . . . . .
- the cost of giving effect to the proposal is more than the relevant limit for major spending for the community titles scheme.
- The owner of each lot must be given copies of at least 2 quotations…
Our relevant limit for major spending is $394,500. Most owner motions are expected to involve spending well below the ‘relevant limit’.
MUST submitters of motions obtain quotes?
The question is posed because of our 789 lots, only about 10% of owners live on site. Investor owners live intrastate, interstate and in 20 countries overseas. Their ability to obtain quotes is, in most cases, simply not possible.
Answer: If a quotation wasn’t included, the motion may still be valid, but it may not properly or fully authorise the works to be carried out.
To properly approve works, sufficient details of the works need to be included. As this is always best achieved with the actual quotation relating to the works and a motion is out of order if the substance is not included in the agenda, it is always best practice to include a quotation.
If a quotation wasn’t included, the motion may still be valid, but it may not properly or fully authorise the works to be carried out.
This post appears in Strata News #514.
Todd Garsden Mahoneys E: tgarsden@mahoneys.com.au P: 07 3007 3753