Council of the Strata Company is a voluntary position who act for and on behalf of the entire Strata Company. The Council of the Strata Company operates in accordance with the Strata Titles Act and any specific by-laws in force for the strata scheme.
Regardless of the size of your property, there must be a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 7 Council of the Strata Company members.
So what happens when one of the members resigns?
If a member has resigned before a general meeting there will be a casual vacancy. This can be filled by a vote from the remaining council members. If nobody fills the place, it will remain as a casual vacancy until the next general meeting.
Filling a casual vacancy
To fill a casual vacancy, you will need a majority vote from the remaining elected council members.
Voting in a new member
At each AGM, there will be a motion relating to the constitution of the Council of the strata company and a vote to elect individuals who will form the Council for the next 12 months. The same motion can be added to any general meeting if required.
Fun Fact: any general meeting held outside of an annual general meeting (AGM) is an extraordinary general meeting (EGM). Each strata company must hold an AGM within 15 months from the previous one. 2 lot schemes and 3-5 lot schemes (with a specific by-law exemption) are exempt from AGM’s.
What happens if we don’t have a council?
If zero, one, or two owners nominate for a council position at the AGM, the Act states that all owners will form the Council.
If there is no council for a complex, then any decision (including maintenance) which needs to be made, requires correspondence to be sent to ALL owners and more than 50% of owners need to approve any work prior to a Strata Manager taking any action.
Typical outcome of having no Council
Many owners, particularly in complexes where no owners want to nominate for a COO position, typically disregard any requests sent by the Strata Manager. This leaves the Strata Manager unable to carry out any non budgeted works, and the result will be a less well maintained complex.
