The Body Corporate (BC), the Council of Management (CoM) or the Council of Owners (CoO) many names one purpose. To control and manage the common property for the benefit of all owners.
Each owner/proprietor has a personal interest in making sure that the property is maintained, insured and properly managed, it may involve them becoming strata council members, volunteering time to discuss finance, issues raised by owners, determine actions to be taken and instructing your strata manager on what is to be done, and how, by whom and when.
The reality is that some of us do not have the time or inclination to nominate or accept a position on the strata council. This is ok/understandable as we all lead busy lives and your council can consist of 3 to 7 owners duly elected at a General Meeting to manage your Strata Company.
The Strata Council commonly meet quarterly or however they deem fit and necessary. The rules of the strata council are set out in the “Governance By-laws” and the Strata Titles Act, associated to your strata scheme.
Some of the duties of the strata council i.e. Chairperson, Treasurer and Secretary are delegated to the strata manager. Example; issuing levies, collecting money, and paying bills are tasks delegated as “Treasurer tasks” Matters that require further determination and instruction are referred back to the Council of Owners for instruction. In general, strata management act as your secretarial arm and advisors to the Stata Council to allow them to make informed and legally correct decisions.
An active Strata Council is extremely important to the effective management of a Strata Company and to work along side the Strata Manager to ensure compliance and positive results for a scheme. The active council is also able to save The Strata Company thousands in repairs, fees and unwanted costs.
Feel free to speak to one of our experienced Strata Managers in our Perth office for a more in-depth dive into the role of a Council of Owners member and if you would like to assist in your schemes management.