Annual meetings for apartment owners do not typically lend themselves to compelling storytelling, but Shakespeare might not have written a more tragicomic tale than my building’s most recent strata meeting. It was the largest ever turnout for our AGM. They tend to be small, sleepy affairs. But this time, about 50 residents filed in, drawn by an opportunity to vote on a bylaw amendment that would finally end the ban on drying laundry on balconies and allow us to put out a portable clothes rack.
Nature’s dryer.Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto
After some procedural matters, it was time for the results. And it was a nailbiter. As with any strata bylaw change under NSW legislation, this matter was voted on by “special resolution”, where change is possible only if at least 75 per cent of the votes cast support the motion. That is, even if just a quarter of voters oppose the motion, it is defeated.
That tally, to complicate matters, is based on the entitlements allotted to each unit rather than the number of apartment owners voting. And those entitlements are allocated in direct proportion to the market value of each unit, so they reflect people’s share of ownership in common property. Owners of more valuable units are bestowed greater voting power in strata matters. Granted, they also pay higher strata fees.
At first, the results sparked jubilation. The facilitator revealed that, of almost 3500 entitlements counted, more than 2500 had voted for change, with fewer than 900 against. Motion passed, we assumed. At long last, we would be free from the harsh laundry rules.
But then there was tension as a resident challenged the count. The numbers didn’t add up.
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Finally, heartbreak. A recount showed that, in fact, 25.8 per cent of entitlements voted against the change, and 74.2 per cent voted for it. The motion failed by the thinnest of whiskers.
As one of the main agitators for change, I was devastated. We lost, so narrowly, despite such an overwhelming majority wanting change. But I was also galvanised to continue community discussions and try again at next year’s AGM.
While I’m cautiously optimistic that it will happen, the bigger problem remains. It should not be legal in the first place for owners’ corporations to impose a blanket ban on such a fundamental human need as drying laundry. Nor is a special resolution vote – giving more say to residents who can afford higher-value homes – a fit-for-purpose mechanism to regulate a housekeeping activity that has wide-ranging health, cost-of-living and climate consequences.
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