Communication = Community – Why your owners corporation committee need to communicate

Communication is key to every working relationship.



That much is true of our personal lives and our working lives and it applies equally to property ownership, particularly in Owners Corporations.

Not everyone has the time to commit to an active role on your Owners Corporation’s committee, which means communication between those that do and those that do not is crucial to ensure everyone is aware of what is happening at your property.

If you own a property which forms part of an Owners Corporation, or Body Corporate as they are often called, then you are automatically a part of a community.

The purpose of your Owners Corporation community is to ensure your building is well maintained, in good repair, insured and a happy place to live, rest and play.

Like most communities, some people will be more willing to play an active role than others.

Just like at your local sports club or interest group, there are those who volunteer their time and knowledge to help keep the community running. It’s the same with your property.

Some owners are more inclined to take a more active role in their Owners Corporation. This is usually done by taking up a position on the Owners Corporation committee.

Owners nominate and are elected to represent all other owners in their building in between general meetings.

This does not make them any more powerful than those who don’t, however it does mean they are going to be more involved in the decisions that your Owners Corporation makes.

It is unreasonable to expect every lot owner in a building to have the time to be a part of the building’s committee and dedicate time to committee meetings and other related activities.

However, every lot owner should be able to access information about the issues the committee are discussing and the outcomes they are deciding on.

That is why committee meetings are vital to the smooth operation of your Owners Corporation.

CHECK YOUR MINUTES

As a bare minimum, all lot owners should expect their Owners Corporation committee to be meeting at least twice a year in between Annual General Meetings.

These committee meetings should have your Strata Manager present, and the outcomes of those meetings should be made available to all lot owners via meeting minutes.

Committee meetings are official business of the Owners Corporation and therefore they are the business of every lot owner – committee member or not.

The minutes of these meetings are there to provide lot owners who are not committee members with a brief rundown of the agenda items and any decisions that were made.

If you have a concern about the discussions or decisions being made, would like to know more about the items that were discussed or would simply like to raise a new item for discussion at the next meeting, you can do that by calling Strata Plan and talking to your Strata Manager.

All committee meeting minutes should be available on your Customer Portal.

If you have not seen any minutes from your committee’s meetings, have a question about joining your Owners Corporation committee or would like to know what issues your committee is dealing with, feel free to submit an enquiry using the form or give us a call!