Authority/Decision Making of Strata Committee

Hi lazyboy,

1) – any ‘information’ held by the SC is the property of the Owners Corporation. The SC cannot prevent owners from inspecting the books and records of the Owners Corporation and obtaining copies of all documents that may reside there. I accept the practical difficulty with this is that SC’s may withhold / instruct their strata manager to withhold documents from the records. In that case, Tribunal orders may need to be sought to obtain access to information.

2) Under section 37 of the SSMA 2015, “it is the duty of each member of a strata committee…to carry out his or her functions for the benefit, so far as practicable, of the owners corporation and with due care and diligence.” Section 260 protects committee members from personal liability if they have acted “in good faith”.

Good question re “what that involves”. I agree that concepts of honesty and transparency are involved. These sections have yet to be tested under the new law, and each case will be assessed on its own facts – ultimately a matter for the Tribunal or the Courts if there is a dispute. Having said that, I am comfortable saying that SC’s withholding records that otherwise belong to the Owners Corporation and which owners are entitled to see would not be acting in good faith.

Amanda.