Short answer
A tenant generally can’t be an ordinary voting member of the strata committee, because committee membership is tied to ownership. However, where a scheme has enough rented lots, the tenants may be entitled to nominate a tenant representative who can take part in committee discussions but has limited rights and can be excluded from some matters.
Why tenants aren’t ordinary members
The people eligible to be elected to the committee are broadly owners or those connected to an owner (such as a company nominee or an owner’s nominee) — see how the committee is elected. A tenant, as a renter rather than an owner, doesn’t fit those categories, so a tenant usually can’t stand for or hold an ordinary committee seat.
The tenant representative
Where at least half of the lots in the scheme are tenanted (notified through proper tenancy notices), the tenants may nominate one tenant representative to the committee. That representative can attend and contribute to discussion, but the law restricts their rights: a tenant representative cannot vote on committee decisions, put a motion, or nominate a person for office, and can be excluded from parts of a meeting dealing with certain matters — for example financial ones. The exact threshold and the precise limits are set by the Act and its regulation, so check the current rules for your scheme.
Keeping owners and tenants in their right lanes
Getting this right means knowing who is an owner, who is a tenant, how many lots are tenanted, and which parts of a meeting a tenant representative may take part in. Straita keeps the scheme’s roll and roles straight — who is an owner, who is a tenant representative, and what each may do — so a self-managing committee runs meetings and records votes without accidentally giving the wrong person the wrong say.
Primary sources
- Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) — tenant representative on the strata committee and the limits on their rights.
- Renting in strata (NSW Government) — tenants and the strata committee.