Strata Manager appointment

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  • 03/02/2023 at 12:06 am #67375
    TrulEConcerned
    Flatchatter

      Hello all,

      We have a general meeting coming up to appoint a strata manager.

      Only one firm is offered for the owners to vote on.

      My question is: can a strata committee pony up just one name to the owners or is it legally required to offer owners a choice of agencies? For all I know the one name offered is a committee member’s brother/sister/baby sitter etc

       

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    • 03/02/2023 at 6:53 pm #67381
      kaindub
      Flatchatter

        The selection of a strata manager involves more than just voting at the AGM.

        Having been on several committees where we changed strata managers, it takes a few months to make a selection.

        The committee would consider whether the style of the strata manager is suitable for the building; whether the sm can work with the committee; the services they offer and the price ( lowest quote is not necessarily the best).

        Most ( not all) owners are not interested in the detail of their strata and entrust the selection of the SM to the committee.

        Remember that if you include all owners in all decisions, then nothing will ever be decided ( that’s just our human nature) .That’s why the act enshrines a small group of owners ( the committee) to make decisions for the whole.

        If you want to be closer to the decision making, stand for the committee.

        04/02/2023 at 10:53 am #67390
        TrulEConcerned
        Flatchatter
        Chat-starter

          Kaindub thanks for the reply.

          The same committee has never been transparent in what it looks for in an agent or how it comes to a decision, suffice to say earlier agents were promoted by one committee member. That said, each time, the OC was asked to vote on a new agent, some 3 names were offered to owners to choose from, with the committee strongly supporting one in particular. The support offered no details as to why one is better than the others.

          I refer to a small strata (6 units and at least 1 has never shown interest in voting on anything) where little is needed other than an agent sending out levy notes and paying bills.

          I hear you about a committee being able to make decisions rather than all the owners. But I argue that the committee is incapable of acting in good faith on this issue amongst others and hence they breach s. 260. Offering one name in isolation may not be evidence of a lack of good faith. But I say that good faith is absent given the committee’s conduct in the past:  I took the committee to a mediation session  (on behalf of the OC) previously about their absence of good faith when they refused to make available a history of communications with a contractor (for a problem that is 4 years old and still unresolved). They still have refused to make those emails available to me.

          Can I as an owner object to the motion being a breach of the committee’s so called “good faith” requirement (s. 260). Are there other sections of the SSMA that I can point to showing the committee failed the owners?

          Any thoughts?

          Thank you.

          04/02/2023 at 10:58 am #67393
          Jimmy-T
          Keymaster
            TrulEConcerned wrote:

            I took the committee to a mediation session  (on behalf of the OC) previously about their absence of good faith when they refused to make available a history of communications with a contractor (for a problem that is 4 years old and still unresolved). They still have refused to make those emails available to me.

            If mediation doesn’t result in a signed agreement to act in a certain way, then it is worth nothing more than a box-ticking exercise to allow you to proceed to a Tribunal hearing.

            If you go to a tribunal and it is a simple case of the committee refusing your legal right to see all documents relating to the management of the scheme, then you can also claim costs as they will have defended the case knowing that they were in the wrong and had no viable defence.  If there are other legal issues in play that muddy the water, then it might not be so simple.

            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.
            • This reply was modified 1 year, 7 months ago by .
            05/02/2023 at 7:56 am #67395
            TrulEConcerned
            Flatchatter
            Chat-starter

              Thanks for the reply. Much appreciated.

              05/02/2023 at 8:11 pm #67405
              Paradise
              Flatchatter

                My experience is that the committee will never say they have refused to make a document available. At best they will make a ton of excuses (to muddy the waters) and at worst will just stand up in court and declare  they made the document available last month as happened to us.

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