Owners voting rights

The strata manager is correct

By-law changes require special resolutions which must be conducted by a poll vote (based on unit entitlements)..  

It must say on the agenda which items are to be determined by special resolution.

Special resolutions require that no more that 25 percent of  of those voting at a general meeting, either in person or by proxy, are against.

Abstentions are not counted in the overall number of votes.  For instance, if those at the meeting represent 50 unit entitlements, 29 vote yes, 10 vote no, and 11 abstain, the motion fails because more that 25 percent of those voting objected even though they represented only 20 percent of the total votes at the meeting.

Any owner can call for a poll vote (unit entitlements) on any issue at a general meeting, even those that require a simple majority. 

Edward said…. I don’t think that it should really matter.

Advocating that compliance with the Law doesn’t really matter is plain silly!

Like WorkCover requirements don’t really matter for your business provided you and your clients agree to do otherwise?

Of course that’s not the case with your business or with Strata Management either!

So speaking for myself, whilst I always appreciate relevant and constructive comments posted here, I really wish you wouldn’t regularly jump in with irrelevancies and not so oblique references to your self-storage business.

cassamcgann – I’m afraid that’s correct if the offending owner knows their stuff!

To explain…. whilst a simple resolution (i.e. >50% in favour by a show of hands) by those entitled to vote incl. by proxy at your Extraordinary General Meeting is all that’s required for the Motion to issue a Notice to Comply (with a by-law) to pass, conversely if the offending owner knows their stuff and requests a “poll vote” [i.e. a vote determined by units of entitlement (UOE)] then a vote against by them, holding the majority UOE, is all that’s required for that Motion to fail.

A special resolution (i.e. >75% in favour by UOE) is not required, and in your circumstances would make no difference to the outcome.

However…. you do have two (2) further options:

1) If you have a Strata Manager who’s not influenced by the majority owner, and their Agency Agreement with the Owners Corporation delegates the function of issuing these Notices to them, then a formal request to the Strata Manager for them to exercise that delegation, signed by the complainant and the other two (2) owners, would be sufficient for them to do so. Ref Sect 45 and in particular Cl. 3

2) Record the details of the vote on issuing the Notice in the Minutes of the General Meeting, and then apply for Mediation of what would then amount to a dispute between the three (3) owners and the Owners Corporation over it refusing to properly operate and administer the Scheme, and specifically by it not enforcing its by-laws. Ref Sect 138 Cl. 1 & 2(a).

There are two (2) options for Mediation as the compulsory first step to resolving the dispute, the first is with the Community Justice Centre and the second is with the NSW Dept. of Fair Trading.

In order to assist with resolution of the dispute should it go to Adjudication, you and the other owners should make known your planned course of further action prior to the commencement of the Meeting should the Motion fail as you anticipate, and as part of the minuted proceedings I’d also give the owner concerned an opportunity to voluntarily comply with the Scheme’s By-Laws.

As you’re new to Strata, I’d suggest you also read THIS excellent publication from the NSW Dept. of Fair Trading.

Good luck, and welcome to Strata Living.

Cameron said….. I’m just wondering what happens if a large number of owners decide to just hide out in their unit instead of coming down for a vote and things go a certain way. Surely there has to be some regulation to prevent that from happening right? Like minimum attendance or something?

There is, and there’s a whole section on General Meetings procedures starting on page 19 of THIS document as also linked in my last post.

As we now have a trio of self-storage operators as contributors to this Forum, may I ask if you’re all strata dwellers or if there’s any collective motive in addition to the occasional oblique reference your business operations and the link to your respective websites, or all of those?

Just to satisfy my curiosity.

You add up the entitlements, so on a poll vote if the three owners have a total of 180 and the six owners have a total of 240, the six owners prevail.  Or vice versa.