Unregistered Owners Corporation Managers Receiving Your Fees?
CASE LAW UPDATE
A recent Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (“VCAT”) case involving a the owner of a commercial lot in a Fitzroy Owners Corporation against other lot owners who were being paid to provide Owners Corporation management services has shone a light on informal arrangements in older or smaller multi-unit properties in Victoria.
The VCAT found that the lot owner managers:
- Received a fee for their management services to the Owners Corporation;
- Were not registered;
- Were not appointed under a contract of appointment;
- Raised fees from lot owners not based on lot liability.
The VCAT resolved the matter by declaring that the Owners Corporation must convene a special general meeting to:
- Accept the existing unregistered managers’ resignation;
- Discuss whether to appoint a registered manager or whether to self-manage by a committee of no less than three lot owners;
- To nominate signatories to the Owners Corporation’s account;
- To seek legal advice on whether the Owners Corporation should recover management fee paid to the unregistered managers since 2007; and
- Whether to appoint an independent auditor.
CASE REFERENCE: Lentini v Brien (Owners Corporations) [2014] VCAT 814 (9 July 2014)
Tisher Liner FC Law has a dedicated Owners Corporation Law division committed to providing quality legal advice and representation to Owners Corporations, Committees, Lot Owners and Managers.
