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Let’s have a hypothetical, that there is a good strata committee out there. As per your recent article Jimmy, they don’t get paid and give up their time on top of their jobs to do what they believe (and the vast majority of owners who vote) is right for the strata block.
Hypothetical also, there is someone in the block whose primary goal it is to harass and make the life of the strata committee hell. People won’t always agree on what is right for the Owners Corp, however, surely that’s why nothing gets through without a majority vote right?
Rather than seeing this as an “ok, the majority of owners don’t agree with me and I’m outvoted”, an individual takes it personally and looks for any way they can to bring down the strata committee. Letter box drops, door knocks, anonymous letters (some not) all bad mouthing the committee by name with examples of how they aren’t suited to the job.
Yet year in year out, hypothetically, the committee get voted back in as the majority of the 36 owners obviously think they do a fantastic job.
So my question is, what might a Strata Committee do if they are not the ones abusing their power but someone else in the block is constantly harassing them.
They aren’t paid to put up with it, and there are bylaws in place to keep them in check, so who polices the remainder of the Owners Corp? Who protects the Strata Committee when they are actually going about their business trying to do the right thing?
I’m on a committee, I’d hate to have a threatening and negative letter slid under my door on a Sunday afternoon whilst trying to enjoy the weekend with my family.
Without contacting police, what could be done on a strata level? If anything?
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Without contacting police, what could be done on a strata level? If anything?
It always amuses me when people ask a question (as they often do) with the added provision that we don’t go down one potentially effective route to resolve their issue. It’s a bit like “how can I take a bus to work without using public transport.”
But seriously, strata law and strata scheme by-laws involve a level of mutual agreement about behaviour. If you go through the strata Act there are very few rules and regulations that have penalties attached for non-compliance.
Taking at random the law about committee members declaring that they have a potential conflict of interest, there is no penalty if they don’t. The decisions on which they vote stand, unless an owner goes through the rigmarole of challenging them at NCAT (within 28 days, I think) and can prove there would have been a different outcome. And even then …
Strata laws generally map out a template of behaviour that we are expected to follow and only in very rare cases can we expect any kind of sanction if we don’t.
For instance, our by-laws can say don’t park on common property. But there is no penalty attached, apart from the general potential penalties for breaching by-laws which, again, must be pursued at NCAT.
The point I’m trying to make here is that strata law can only do so much. In the great totem pole of legislation, strata law is right at the bottom and we know this because it says that you can’t pass a by-law that would supersede any other law.
Thus, for instance, you can’t pass a by-law that would clamp illegally parked cars because that’s forbidden by other laws not specifically related to strata schemes.
So what can you do about a resident who harasses you or the other members of your committee. The simplest answer is to look for solutions in superior laws to strata laws and, in the case of continueed harassment and abuse, ask your local court or even the police to issue an Apprehended Personal Violence Order (APVO).
That may sound extreme but the terms of an APVO include threats, stalking, harassment and intimidation and specifically apply to the actions of neighbours.
The other option is to hold a committee meeting to decide what to do next about this resident (is he or she a tenant, as per your headline?), laying out the issues and canvassing your options such as taking out an APVO, spending money on legal action to get some kind of restraining order, seeking mediation or installing increased access security and surveillance to restrict and record their movements within the building (the threat of spending money is the easiest way to galavanise owners into action).
Presented with a detailed motion you might get the resident to agree to back off rather than face the public humiliation of being exposed in this way.
And if you are worried about defamation, it has recently been established in the Supreme Court that strata residents, not just committees, have considerable leeway when it comes to naming people whom they are accusing of bad behaviour. As long as it’s not purely malicious and has an element of truth, you are ususually OK (although you might want to check that with a lawyer).
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
I empathise with you EnterSandman, we have that exact someone here too in Sydney’s Inner-West, let’s call her Karen.
Karen is under the misapprehension that as a long-term owner (bad behaviour doesn’t discriminate between owners & tenants) she is entitled to berate everyone else by way of endless complaining emails to our poor S/M & S/C.
If you sneezed in your bed late at night, then you can expect a 17 page complaint email from Karen by sunrise. Never ever has Karen been on the S/C herself, never provides alternatives or solutions to issues (raised by her), just complains endlessly with absolutely no shame whatsoever.
Karen removed her carpet to expose the floor boards (top floor Lot), placed ugly iron bars on windows & also did illegal work in her lot citing asbestos – all unapproved. Karen likes to intrude on new owners/tenants to moan about her deluded thoughts of being perpetually hard done by all and to harass real estate agents for owner details so she can continue her monumental poor me drivel.
Karen’s favourite line is that she’s entitled and it’s the principle of the issue. Karen is sad, lonely and forever angry.
Jimmy is right, call the Police, I did. Confronting them (albeit via Police) stops them escalating their bad behaviours. The behaviour was obviously denied to the Police but it never happened again!
Police relayed the fact that I was more than willing to seek an APVO which would also impact on Karen’s employment. Other than that, I just ignore Karen now – much to her ire.
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