Question: If a CoO member disagrees with the majority regarding decisions on a quote, can they present alternative quotes to all owners for a final decision?
I am a member of a three-person council of owners (CoO) for a 14-unit strata scheme. We recently sought gutter cleaning quotes, some through our strata management and some through me as a CoO member. The quotes provided by the strata manager do not represent the best value. The other two CoO members are happy to proceed with the strata manager’s quote, which is almost $150 more than the quote I obtained.
As a CoO member, I am mindful of my obligation to obtain the best value for unit owners, and proceeding with a more expensive quote without supportable reasons is not only doing the owners a disservice but also means the CoO is not appropriately discharging its duties.
If the other CoO members insist on proceeding with the more expensive quote, can I take the quotes to all owners and allow them to make a decision? Our scheme is in quite a state of disrepair and needs considerable work.
Answer: If the scheme has delegated this decision to the council of owners, the majority decision prevails.
The council of owners are authorised to make decisions on behalf of the scheme based on the limitations that are provided within the Act and the scheme’s budget.
The majority prevails if two council of owners wish to proceed with a quote. They do not always need to choose the lowest quote. Whilst your vote may be for gutter cleaning that is $150 less, they may have their reasons why they prefer another, e.g. continuity of contractor, reviews, scope of works, time frame to do the work etc
A decision should not always be made on price. Just because they have not chosen the lowest quote does not mean they are not acting in the best interest of the scheme. If you would prefer these decisions are made by all owners, at the next AGM you can raise a motion to confirm a contractor and budget. Otherwise, the majority decision prevails if the scheme has delegated this to the council of owners.
This post appears in Strata News #722.
Jamie Horner
Empire Estate Agents
E: JHorner@empireestateagents.com
P: (08) 9262 0400
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