Question: Can the Resident Manager lobby for votes to achieve a decision that best suits them?
Can the Resident Manager vote farm to achieve the composition of committee members that best suits them?
I am not referring to proxy voting. The Resident Manager may be emailing investors to farm votes For or Against motions that favour the Resident Manager. e.g. Management Contract extension and a Motion that would significantly reduce payments for services that are not in the Management Agreement.
Answer: Strata is like politics: it is about the numbers.
There is no prohibition on lobbying for votes in a strata scheme. Plenty of people think there is, or there should be. There is not, though. To be blunt, strata is like politics: it is about the numbers. As crass as that sounds, that is the reality.
Bear in mind, if someone is out there actively campaigning for an outcome, then you can also actively campaign for the position you want, or you can campaign against that other person’s position.
There is a provision about body corporate mangers not unduly influencing the outcome of an election – Schedule 2 of the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 – yet there is no similar provision relating to caretakers.
This post appears in Strata News #583.
Chris Irons Strata Solve E: chris@stratasolve.com.au P: 0419 805 898