QLD: Q&A How can owners deal with dysfunctional committees?

This article is about how Queensland owners can deal with a negligent or dysfunctional body corporate committee.

Table of Contents:

• QUESTION: What disciplinary options are available in a body corporate, aside from removing a committee member through a vote?
• QUESTION: Our body corporate is dysfunctional, and the committee is resigning. Can the chair/secretary delegate their roles to a non-committee member/owner so the EGM can proceed?
• QUESTION: How can body corporate owners deal with ‘Do nothing’ committees?

Question: What disciplinary options are available in a body corporate, aside from removing a committee member through a vote?

Answer: Get clarity on the outcome you want and pursue that, rather than thinking about how you could utilise ‘disciplinary’ actions.

You may want to consider an alternative perspective.

Committees are made up of volunteers. Their role often involves managing complex issues, frequently without recognition, and making decisions that may not please everyone. It’s important to recognise the effort and commitment this role requires. If you or others feel the committee isn’t meeting expectations, the appropriate course of action is to get involved by nominating yourself or encouraging someone else to do so. Concerns about accessibility or fairness of elections, such as suggestions that “the committee is stacked” or “it’s impossible to get on”, are often based on perception. Committee elections follow democratic principles: if a candidate has the support of the majority, they are elected. If not, it may be worth reflecting on what could be done differently to gain that support.

Formal disciplinary mechanisms are typically associated with regulated professions (e.g., legal or real estate sectors). A volunteer committee does not fall into this category, although it is fair to expect that committee members conduct themselves with professionalism. That distinction is important when considering accountability mechanisms.

In other words, forget about notions of discipline or punishment. If the intent is to pursue some form of accountability, it’s worth considering what outcomes are realistic and appropriate. Options like sanctions, disqualification, or public reprimands are not applicable in a strata context. While ‘no confidence’ motions are common in politics, they are not a recognised procedure in strata governance frameworks.

Broadly speaking, the most effective responses to concerns about a committee are to:

• Dispute a specific committee decision through the Commissioner’s Office – although you have to demonstrate why it was unreasonable,
• Seek removal of a committee member or members via an ordinary resolution or a code of conduct process.

Our tip: get clarity on the outcome you want and pursue that, rather than thinking about how you could utilise ‘disciplinary’ actions.

Chris Irons
Strata Solve
E: chris@stratasolve.com.au
P: 0419 805 898

This post appears in Strata News #759.

Question: Our body corporate is dysfunctional, and the committee is resigning. Can the chair/secretary delegate their roles to a non-committee member/owner so the EGM can proceed?

I am a lot owner but not on our committee. I want to bring some order and process to our situation. Our body corporate is dysfunctional and in a state of potential crisis. The body corporate manager is not responding to emails or answering questions about finances. An EGM is due, and the manager has not amended the agenda to include motions.

The chair/secretary wants to resign from both positions before the EGM. The treasurer is on holiday. Committee nominations are an item on the EGM agenda.

Can I ask the chair/secretary to delegate both roles to me? As acting chair/secretary, can I amend the agenda and ask to be sent voting papers and committee nominations? Can I run the EGM, hold committee elections and make suggestions going forward? We can appoint a working group to consider self-management or an alternative body corporate management group.

Answer: Whatever the problems, remain focused on achieving viable solutions via majority vote.

Where to begin when you have a situation like this? It sounds like a toxic situation full of mistrust, and reversing that can be very hard.

The one positive is that you have a meeting due, which may provide some opportunity for a vote or discussion on how you might progress. Even if it is just an informal discussion with the owners present, having people in a face-to-face situation may be what you need for a breakthrough.

If that meeting isn’t a suitable space to begin discussing the issues, perhaps speak to the current committee about arranging an opportunity to do this. The meeting could be formal or informal, but at some stage, you are going to need to create an opportunity for owners to talk to each other to decide what you want to do next.

Body corporate managers can often help with those discussions, but it seems you are not having good communication with yours. We don’t know all the reasons for that, but if you don’t feel the manager is a viable option, you could get assistance from an independent party. We’d be happy to recommend Strata Solve in this regard while noting they are sponsors of LookUpStrata: Protecting Your Strata Interests.

Otherwise, it may be possible for you to join the committee at the EGM. You say nominations are an agenda item. If not, committee members can be changed when a member resigns. In that case, the remaining committee members have 30 days to agree to replacements. So, if your current chair/secretary resigned, the other members could appoint you to fill these roles if they agreed.

And, if you had other owners interested in helping, it would make sense to incorporate them into the management process. It would be better to formalise that process as quickly as possible – probably by calling an EGM to dissolve the existing committee and appoint the new one – but having some kind of practical, operational group assisting the body corporate may be a feasible short-term option if it helps add some stability.

It’s hard to be exact without knowing more details, but understand that you are not the first scheme to face issues and won’t be the last. Whatever the problems, remain focused on achieving viable solutions via majority vote. You can expect to hear lots of opinions, and doubtless, there will be some finger-pointing, but the way out of these positions is to block out the white noise and concentrate on what can be done next. It’s easier said than done, but that is what’s required.

William Marquand
Tower Body Corporate
E: willmarquand@towerbodycorporate.com.au
P: 07 5609 4924

This post appears in Strata News #729.

Question: How can body corporate owners deal with ‘Do nothing’ committees?

Our body corporate committee can be called a ‘Do nothing committee’. Although a mechanical engineer has advised of obvious defects, the building and its fixtures are not subject to any maintenance.

Expended fire extinguishers have been remounted on the carpark walls with a “Do not service” label. Our insurance premium has significantly increased due to significant claims that could have been prevented. What can owners do?

Answer: There are steps you can take.

If the committee isn’t taking the maintenance responsibilities of the scheme seriously, they are putting your investment and possibly lives at risk.

We can’t assess the gravity of the situation from the outside, but there are steps you can take. There is an escalating hierarchy of steps starting with writing a letter to the committee to express your concerns, submitting owners motions to have issues addressed, then making a filing with the commissioner’s office to have works forcibly applied.

You can also look to join the committee at the next AGM to influence matters from the inside or, if necessary, call a general meeting to dissolve the current committee and form a new one.

None of these options may be easy if you are coming up against a group of people who are just not interested or don’t see the point of maintaining the standards of their body corporate. Still, it may be necessary for you to go through the process to ensure your safety and investment are protected.

William Marquand
Tower Body Corporate
E: willmarquand@towerbodycorporate.com.au
P: 07 5609 4924

This post appears in Strata News #719.

Read more:

• QLD: Q&A Can Signatures on a Secret Ballot be Kept Secret?
• QLD: Proxies versus representatives

Visit Strata Committee Concerns OR Strata Legislation QLD

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