By the Paddocks Club team

Below are examples of two questions on the Paddocks Club discussion forum, to show you what is available to our Community members!

Selling exclusive use rights

Member’s question:

Hi Paddocks team,

One of the owners in a Sectional Title Complex have exclusive use rights to a maids room allocated to his unit in terms of the management rules of the Body Corporate. He wants to sell the maids room to another owner who does not have a maids room. Can the owner sell and if so what procedure needs to be followed?

Zerlinda’s answer:

Dear member,

An exclusive use area created and allocated in terms of the scheme’s rules cannot be sold / alienated / bonded etc. The management rules will need to be amended to reallocate the exclusive use area to another owner of a section within the scheme.

Trustee remuneration and proxy

Member’s question:

Good afternoon,

I have 2 scenarios:

1. An owner is an Attorney and is elected as a trustee at the annual general meeting, the trustees have made a decision that his firm is to handle any collections and be paid by the body corporate, is this a conflict of interest and is it allowed? Am right in saying that if this is the case then he may not be part of this decision. There are 5 trustees including him, must all of the other 4 agree?

2. Mr A elected as a trustee at the annual general meeting but Mr B (not elected) has been attending trustees meetings on his behalf as well as being part of decision making. No written resignation has been received from Mr A, therefore we assume that he has not officially resigned. Can a trustee ask someone to stand in for them if they cant make meetings?

Also, to join the 2 scenarios, Mr B (not elected) and the Attorney made the decision to use his firm for collections.

Zerlinda’s answer:

Dear member,

With regard to question 1, the trustee would have a direct or indirect interest in the decision and appointment, therefore the trustee must recuse himself, and not play a part in, or be present at, any decision relating to his firm.

Relating to question 2, a trustee cannot have a “proxy” for a trustee meeting. The trustees may however appoint an alternate trustee, should the elected trustee not be available to attend a trustee meeting.

With regard to your last question, unless the “alternate” trustee was appointed properly as an alternate trustee, he could not make such a decision. Furthermore, as stated above, the trustee with an interest in the appointment of his firm could also not take part in the decision.

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Article reference: Paddocks Press: Volume 13, Issue 9.

Professor Graham Paddock, Zerlinda van der Merwe and Ané de Klerk are available to answer questions on the Paddocks Club discussion forum for Community members. Get all your questions answered by joining Paddocks Club.

This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution license.

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