Filling a strata committee vacancy

Hi all,

I'm just wondering if anyone knows if there is a rule regarding priority or preference to whom a Strata committee can add as a member when a previous member resigns?

The committee for my building (std module, 121 units, 28 levels, QLD) elected 7 members (the maximum number) at the AGM last year.

As a brief history, one person nominated and elected last year had been put on the committee earlier in the year by another member following a resignation by a former member, and he is not a unit owner (he rents), and at the time of this occurring, as well as at the time of nomination and election, he did not possess a valid Power of Attorney. The committee are ignoring this. The same person was also put on the committee by another member 5 years ago following another resignation, and was found to have an invalid POA then too (He then obtained a POA 6 months after the fact and remained on the committee.)

So, this person legally should not be on the committee. Also, at the AGM and leading up to it, there were multiple mistakes and mix-ups with regard to voting papers, missing motions, and 3 separate voting papers and agendas had to be sent out, and the AGM rescheduled to a month after its original date due to the delays in issuing the finally correct agenda and voting papers and allowing the required notice to lot owners. (they weren't going to reschedule the AGM until we basically forced them to, and also, they were required to either use different coloured ballot papers for the 3rd (correct and final) set, or re-date them to the rescheduled AGM date to differentiate between the 2 previous incorrect papers. Owners were instructed to only vote on the 3rd set.

Many owners got confused (a lot are elderly and also many don't actually live here) and returned the first, second or no papers at all, as they didn't understand why there were so many copies.

The person with the invalid POA received 11 votes that were on the incorrect papers. The committee and the returning officer refused to acknowledge this.

Another owner WOULD have been elected to the committee as they had more valid votes than the invalid person.

Anyway, so NOW, another member has resigned (the Secretary) as he's sold his unit. And the committee has put on an 80 year old person who has only lived here for a year. I know this is legal, but...

Is there any kind of rule or recommendation that the person who would have been elected last year at the AGM be invited first to come onto the committee now?

Thank you so much for reading my novel!

 

Read the SP rules. If a vacancy is not legally filled then decisions could be liable and invalid.

 

This person that is not an owner, could they be recognized as a tenants representative ?
As such could have input into discussions but not entitled to vote....

Why bother filling the position ?
If you had the max 7 on the committee you needed a vote of 4 (or more) to pass any vote, that hasn't changed, even with the remaining 6 you still need 4 votes ........

I wouldn't bother pursuing any of the other matters, but I WOULD be investigating every aspect of the strata management's running of the BC, if they can stuff up such a simple thing as the voting in of a person with no entitlement "what else are they stuffing up"????

Time for a new strata manager !

 

OMG, we SO want a new strata manager and a whole new committee, but it's a very slow and difficult process.

This person who is a full "ordinary" member of the committee is a tenant in one unit in the building and apparently the power of attorney for the owner of that unit. Apparently. Except it isn't valid.

Oh, and they have to fill the vacancy as at the AGM they had 7 members on the committee, and a committee cannot increase or decrease the number of members during the year. They have to fill any vacancy that happens during the year to keep the number the same.