NSW: Can a lot owner nominate themselves for election as a member of the strata committee?

This article is about strata committee elections in NSW owners corporations.

This question is answered in section 31 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 which provides as follows:

31 Persons who are eligible to be appointed or elected to strata committee

1. The following persons are eligible for appointment or election to the strata committee of an owners corporation—
   
   1. an individual who is a sole owner of a lot in the strata scheme,
   2. a company nominee of a corporation that is a sole owner of a lot in the strata scheme,
   3. an individual who is a co-owner of a lot or a company nominee of a corporation that is a co-owner of a lot in the strata scheme, if the person is nominated for election by an owner who is not a co-owner of the lot or by a co-owner of the lot who is not a candidate for election as a member,
   4. an individual who is not an owner of a lot in the strata scheme, if the person is nominated for election by an owner of a lot who is not a member, or is not seeking election as a member, of the strata committee.

2. To avoid doubt, an individual who is a sole owner of a lot may nominate himself or herself, and an owner that is a corporation may nominate the corporation’s company nominee, for election as a member of the strata committee.
3. A sole owner of a lot in a strata scheme may not nominate more than one person for election as a member of the strata committee, except as provided by subsection (5).
4. Only one co-owner (including a company nominee of a co-owner) of the same lot may be a member of a strata committee at the same time, except as provided by subsection (5).
5. A person who is an owner of more than one lot in the strata scheme may nominate one person for election as a member of the strata committee for each lot for which the person is an owner.

While the section above answers the question at hand, it can be difficult to interpret. As such, we have prepared a summary as follows:

1. An individual lot owner can nominate themselves for election as a member of the strata committee.
2. A co-owner cannot nominate themselves for election as a member of the strata committee.
3. A co-owner can be nominated by the other co-owner of the lot, if that co-owner is not a candidate for election.
4. Another lot owner can nominate a co-owner of a lot for election as a member of the strata committee.
5. Only one co-owner of the same lot may be a member of a strata committee at the same time, except as provided by subsection (5) of section 31.

Jasmin H.Singh & Allison Benson
Kerin Benson Lawyers
E: [email protected]
P: 02 4032 7990

This is general information and should not be considered to be legal advice. I recommend you obtain legal advice specific to your individual situation.

This post appears in Strata News #638.

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This article has been republished with permission from the author and first appeared on the Kerin Benson Lawyer website.

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