This article discusses voting and attendance are counted at AGMs when an owner has more than one lot.
Question: At an AGM, should a company that owns three lots be counted as three in the attendance and voting numbers?
At our strata AGM, the attendance and voting were recorded as 17. One company owns three units, and the company representative attended the meeting. They were recorded as holding three proxies (one for each lot) and were counted as “3” in the attendance and voting total.
Is it correct or fair for a single company representative to be counted as three for attendance and voting purposes simply because the company owns three lots?
Answer: If a person or entity owns multiple lots, they are entitled to an equal number of votes to the number of financial lots owned.
Section 120 of the Strata Titles ACT 1985 (STA85) deals with voting at strata company meetings. This section provides that each owner of a lot, when entitled to vote, is entitled to one vote. To be entitled, the lot must be financial (levies paid up to date). Therefore, if a person or entity owns multiple lots, they are entitled to an equal number of votes to the number of financial lots owned.
Where a unit is owned by an entity or more than one individual, a proxy form is required to be in place identifying the person who holds the vote for the lot they are representing. This is the same for joint ownership. So, for example, if Mr and Mrs Smith own a unit, a proxy form is required to identify if Mr or Mrs Smith are voting (even if they both attend).
Luke Downie
Realmark
E: ldownie@realmark.com.au
P: 08 9328 0999
This post appears in Strata News #774.
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