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Topic
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This concerns the EC of a 32 unit Strata in NSW.
For the last year and more, with the same Sec., no correspondence has appeared in the Agenda nor minutes of the EC meetings.
Yet, there has been e-mails sent to the Sec. and Strata Managing Agent and return e-mails sent to the correspondents.
These e-mails have been very important to the OC as legal demands have been issued and solicitors retained by the EC.
Does the EC have the power to retain a solicitor suggested by the Managing Agent or does it have to go to an EGM?
In this day and age where e-mails have become the norm between EC members, isn’t there still the responsibility for the EC to place the correspondence in the minutes so the Owners can know what’s going on?
In this case the Owners don’t know anything about what’s going on even when legal action may be brought on against the EC, who represent the OC.
There are many other issues regarding correspondence which the Owners have never been informed about.
In fact, no correspondence has ever been reported in the past year, when e-mails have been going around left, right, and centre.
Would appreciate your advice!!
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On the legal advice front, the Act requires that an OC must not seek legal advice or the provision of other legal services or initiate legal action unless a resolution approving that action is passed at a General Meeting of the owners. There is an exemption if the reasonably anticipated cost is the lesser of $12500 or $1000 a lot.
So in your case with 32 lots if the reasonably anticipated costs are more than $12500 approval at a General Meeting has to be obtained. Note that the costs should be backed up by a fee proposal from the provider.
It seems the EC might not have done anything about getting approval for the legal costs? Even if they have not been to a GM there should have been notice of an EC meeting where they made the decision to retain legal advice, and for what purpose. That would include an estimate of the costs.
Note that if an EC doesn’t have time to get approval at a GM then they should get ratification of what they have done at a GM asap, to avoid risk of personal liability.
Re correspondence – a strata manager and/or the EC receive all sorts of correspondence, usually by way of email. I gave an example a while ago of an owner in our scheme who sent 150 ranting emails in a month. You say there have been emails going back and forward, which is what people do with emails – would you really expect to see them all?
There is no general requirement to table correspondence received. If it is substantive then as a matter of good practice and management you might expect to be notified, even if it were by way of general reference. But I think you need to be careful about what you table or disclose, particularly in a legal context. Legal correspondence can be subject to confidentiality and privilege and you have to be careful about how you manage it.
S.
Don’t despair/or do…….you are not Robinson Crusoe by any means.
I AM THE Ex. Comm of our tiny, tiny strata…..to no avail. At our last AGM I was ‘set-up’, so to speak..nominated and 2nd ed.
Now, as it turns out…so many issues that are being ignored by the SM who is also the Sec, Treas etc.
One matter:
1…Previous SM accidentally ‘took’ almost 1K from our account; the present SM mentioned it at AGM, (not recorded in the Minutes), said that there would be correspondence, however, the result= nothing. Ignores my calls, corresp ie. email, snail-mail letters, even texts. (Am about to forward copies of last corresp by REGISTERED MAIL)……
I DO KNOW THIS:Fair Trading has only seven, (7) people who attend to these matters in NSW. They refer ‘important ‘ matters to just one of 3, (three), people who deal with ‘important’ matters. The 3 amigos are inundated!!! We, the plebs, are almost literally banging our collective heads against a brick wall. There will never be a solution to any complaint about anything BIG or small until the NSW Government appoints more people to deal with our issues.
So, no matter what we have to deal with, forget it for now…No person will help us…it is A GIVEN, in my opinion
F.
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