THE WORLD IS RUN BY THOSE WHO TURN UP
Three things to consider about your body corporate:
- ‘Owner apathy’ may simply reflect other priorities
- People’s lives are busy, and their attention is finite
- Rallying support for a vote will take effort and charm
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Owner apathy in strata
It was Benjamin Franklin who said the two certainties of life are death and taxes. In the strata industry we’ve always added one more: apathy.
Those of us inside the industry often talk about owner apathy. We find it extraordinary that general meetings will be adjourned where there might only be 10% of people (or even less!) who choose to participate in the decision-making over what can be a very valuable asset.
I’ve had a bit of a revelation. (It just shows that you can continue to learn each day). I think it’s not so much about apathy (and perhaps it never was), but priorities.
Competing priorities
For some people, the body corporate issues that they are dealing with are the most important thing in the world. And clearly those people are the ones who put up the motions to be voted on at meetings and engage with others about them.
But for everyone else, there are multiple other competing priorities on a day-to-day basis.
Your family, your kids, your job, your grandkids; your parents, your mortgage, the cost of living. It might even be the Middle East, the Ukraine or the US election that is concerning and distracting you. Relative to those things, the email that arrives every year from your body corporate manager with 15 motions is meaningless. And people choose not to vote because they just could not be bothered to get their heads around one more thing, on top of everything else they have to deal with.
For me, I don’t think there is as much apathy in bodies corporates as I did previously – it’s just that people have other issues dominating their attention which means they’re simply not interested in what’s going on in their scheme. Others can look after that (and they do).
Actions speak louder than words
From an owner’s perspective, if you want to motivate people to vote, you need to engage with them. But you must also recognise that a lot of people simply won’t and don’t care about the issue that is important to you – and you’re not going to be able to distract them from the other things going on in their lives to make them care enough to vote yes to your particular motion.
The other little caveat that I always put on this is that the Commissioner’s Office doesn’t take a very positive view of people challenging decisions made at a general meeting after the event when they haven’t chosen to vote themselves. It’s a pretty hard sell to the Commissioner’s Office: to be able to explain why you’re challenging something you didn’t care about enough at the time to cast a vote on.
So, bear that in mind – people’s lives are busy, and your priorities may not be their priorities.
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Article Contributed by Frank Higginson, Partner, Hynes Legal
This content relates to buildings regulated by the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997.
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There five Body Corporate’s in my complex and one PCB
Owners are allowed to attend the PCB AGM but only as an observer.
That gives no incentive to attend.
How do I challenge this silly rule.
You can’t. The ‘lot owners’ in the PBC are the subsidiary representatives appointed by each of the bodies corporate. So the PBC is akin to a 5 lot body corporate for the purposes of your question. Only those 5 lot owners can go and have a say.
I also live in a layered scheme. No observers are invited to a PBC. Their agenda is not distributed and we receive no minutes. Mr Law don’s message is a big surprise to me.
Then you should put it to your committee that they report to your body corporate about what happens at PBC level.
Owner apathy exists because the industry us stitched up by strata industry interests, all of which work towards reducing any power the owner has…
We may own our properties but any sign of trying to manage our lifestyle and there is some part of the industry who will be on our backs to reduce our power… especially committees that are stacked by Proprty Managers and Caretakers…
To show up at meetings is to be bullied..I’vve been dealing with this for 7 years…apathy only exists because of continuous bullying of owners..
Is there anybody who fights for the rights of owners over the powers of the strata industry….. Or are we doomed to be regulated by organisations with vested interests in the industry?
We aren’t apathetic, our BC Committee is just full of putrid bullies and everyone avoids them
We also live in a layered scheme, where we have had 2 hazards not rectified for 12 months. One part of to the PBC won’t agree to rectification so we now have an access point out of the complex closed for 12 months and the Strata & Caretaker have known of the issue. The Caretaker even locked the access point.
One other reason might be that owners are never fully aware of what is being discussed at committee meetings. One otherwise very good State wide strata agent, who mange two seperate Buildings in which i have interests, has very flimsy agendas published that never comply with the requirement to state the substance of Matters in the agenda..
Below is a motion. I’m submitting to the AGM to try and get this fixed.he Motion
“To ensure that not only committee members, but also all lot Owners, are fully informed of the substance of issues to be considered at Committee meetings, as is required by Clause 49 (1) of the Accommodation Module of the Body Corporate and Community Management Act, this General meeting respectfully requests the Strata Manager to comply with Clause 49 (1) so as to issue Agendas stating the substance of issues to be considered at the meeting noting that, a reference simply to “correspondence” or “Insurance Valuation” or “contracts” or “building repaint” (as for example as contained in the Meeting Notice for ***** 2024) does not state the substance of the issue as required by the Act, and thus prevents owners who are entitled to attend meetings as observers, from knowing the substance matters for committee discussions which may be of interest to all owners.
Explanation of motion.
The Body Corporate and Community Management Act recognises the importance of not only committee members being fully informed of what is to be discussed at committee meetings, but also that all owners are also informed cleary so they understand what exactly is to be discussed. All lot owners have the right to attend, committee meetings as observers and some owners may wish to be present to hear the discussion on items which may impact on their investment in the building.
But to do this they have to be aware of the substance of the issue listed on the Agenda for discussion.
Unfortunately the meeting notice agendas that have been distributed this year do not give any indication of the substance of the issues to be considered by the committee.
There is a very simple solution to these problems. In the same way that US president cannot run for more than two terms then neither should a chairperson or for that matter anyone else on the committee. It simply goes back to the fact that all owners are equal and should have the opportunity to take charge of what they pay in fees. Committee members should also be excluded from voting and proxies in upcoming elections so as not to collude in the voting process. If the seats fail to fill then it can be open to previous committee members to fill them.
There is a very simple solution to these problems. In the same way that US president cannot run for more than two terms then neither should a chairperson or for that matter anyone else on the committee. It simply goes back to the fact that all owners are equal and should have the opportunity to take charge of what they pay in fees. Committee members should also be excluded from voting and proxies in upcoming elections so as not to collude in the voting process. If the seats fail to fill then it can be open to previous committee members to fill them.
I find this very confronting. I have to ask where this opinion came from and to wonder if anyone was contacted to see why they do not attend. This judgement appears to be made independent of feedback.
For me I do not attend because when I did, on one occasion. I was allowed less that 5 minutes to speak. I was also maneuvered many times so I could not attend. I am also subject of “informal meetings” that are not miniated where the issues I have raised are discussed and dismissed out of hand. I regularly am ignored and emails not responded to. If they are responded to, I am treated to a circular conversation of fogging that has nothing to do with the issues raised. I tried to nominate for the committee and somehow all the paperwork I needed and about me strangely becomes lost but admin that apparently forgot to include me. I have had false statements in the minutes that I am happy with things that I raised, and they are totally resolved when nothing has been done and nothing resolved. This is total fabrication.
I do not attend because I feel bullied and undermined. This has been going on for years with undue power in the hands of few.
I liked the idea about all owners are equal.
What is the purpose of a committee member.? The 2 year plan will work.
This is our home. We have all experienced the power and control of these members. Abuse lies. Favours to there friends. Let’s work together and help create a friendly and workable relationship with the people around us .