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  • #36014
    bangles
    Flatchatter

      A couple of questions and any assistance would be appreciated.

      I believe Tenants and or Owners can attend Strata Committee meetings, but I have been advised unless invited” by Strata Committee can not join in and contribute, is this correct?

      Our by-laws do not specify a tenant can not stand for election at an AGM so I assume they could if they wanted to but again I am advised if elected they are not able to participate in any financial matters, is this correct?

      If a tenant attends an AGM can they participate in discussions or only participate if they are invited.

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    • #36021
      Jimmy-T
      Keymaster

        To answer your questions:

        I believe Tenants and or Owners can attend Strata Committee meetings, but I have been advised “unless invited” by Strata Committee can not join in and contribute, is this correct?

        Owners can attend strata committee meetings but they can’t address the meeting unless the committee votes to allow them to do so. Tenants have no stated right to attend meetings. Section 13 of Schedule 2 says this:

        13 Non-member owner may attend

        An owner or, if the owner of a lot is a corporation, any company nominee of that corporation is entitled to attend a meeting but is not entitled to address the meeting unless authorised to do so by resolution of the strata committee.

        Question 2:

        Our by-laws do not specify a tenant can not stand for election at an AGM so I assume they could if they wanted to but again I am advised if elected they are not able to participate in any financial matters, is this correct?

        You have confused and conflated a few different aspects of the law here.  By-laws don’t decide who can or can’t stand for election – that’s part of strata law.  In fact, a tenant or just about any non-owner can stand for election if nominated by an owner, and if so elected would be entitled to participate fully in the workings of the committee.

        However, in a building where more than 50 per cent of residents are registered tenants, the chair must invite tenants to nominate candidates for election as tenant representatives and organise elections if required.  The duly elected tenants rep can participate in the discussions but has no vote and can be excluded from discussions of sensitive issues.  This is different from a tenant elected as a fully fledged member of the committee.

        If a tenant attends an AGM can they participate in discussions or only participate if they are invited.

        Who’s going to stop them?

        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.
        #36040
        Sir Humphrey
        Strataguru

          If a tenant attends an AGM can they participate in discussions or only participate if they are invited.

          Who’s going to stop them?

          A formal option: Since a general meeting is a meeting of owners, I would think the chair could rule on whether someone has standing at the meeting. In the ACT at least, an owner can appoint anyone (except the strata manager) to be their proxy, so, here at least, I would advise a tenant who wishes to take part in an AGM, including voting, to suggest to the owner of the unit that they be appointed as the owner’s proxy.

          An informal option: That said, a reasonable chair would, I think, allow anyone to speak if they are contributing something worthwhile to the discussion of the agenda item at hand. You could speak to the chair ahead of the meeting to alert them to your desire to speak on some topic during the meeting.

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