If you own a strata property like a home unit then you are entitled to vote at strata meetings, such as the annual general meeting, where all the owners make decisions about the strata scheme including setting levies and upcoming repairs and maintenance. However, issues can arise about an owner’s eligibility to vote and the owner’s voting power.
An owner is not eligible to vote at a strata meeting if that owner is unfinancial i.e. has not paid all levies due in relation to that owner’s lot (strata property).
An owner’s voting power is one vote for each lot that he or she owns for an ordinary resolution or is based on unit entitlement for a special resolution. Most decisions require only a simple majority to approve an ordinary resolution but in the case of a special resolution (one needed to change by-laws or to affect common property) 75% approval is required having regard to the unit entitlement for each lot, details of which appear on the strata plan. This is the share of the strata scheme attributed to each lot. The bigger, more expensive the lot, the greater the unit entitlement.
Also, in the case of the election of officers of the owners corporation such as the secretary or treasurer or members of the strata committee, which would normally be decided by a simple majority, if an owner demands a poll then the value of all owners’ votes are determined by the unit entitlement for their lot.
June 2022