Make a date with your body corporate - Part 2

Sectionally, yours with Les Reynard

HERE we continue about the body corporate's annual general meetings.

The agenda continues:

a) The schedules of the replacement values of the units

INSURANCE:

Here the sum insured is normally agreed to – with or without amendment. Do not confuse replacement value with market value.Should you feel your unit is under-insured because of expensive fittings, you may increase your unit's sum insured at your cost. Owners beware – the insurance company will return your unit to what it was originally – normal carpets, normal taps, wood kitchen tops.

If you have a lapa, Wendy house or a pool, ensure this too is on the insurance policy.

b) The estimate of the income and expenditure – here the levy budget is accepted. With or without amendment. You can query items on the budget that are worrying you.

c) Appointment of the auditor or accounting officer.

d) Determination of the number of trustees to be elected – here the meeting decides how many trustees they want on the board. Owners in arrears with their levies or guilty of breaking the rules of conduct, may not be nominated nor may they become trustees at a later stage. (This is a new amendment to the rules.)

e) Election of the trustees for the ensuing year. Trustees need not be owners but the majority of trustees must be owners or a spouse of owners.

Any employee of the body corporate, such as the managing agent, may not be elected as a trustee unless they are also owners in the complex.

f) Determination of the address of the body corporate – this is a record of the official address of the BC and is usually the address of the managing agent. This address is recorded with SARS, the deeds office and the municipality.

g) The confirmation by the auditor or accounting officer that any amendment, substitution, addition or repeal of the rules have been submitted to the registrar of deeds for filing as contemplated in section 35(5)(c) of the Act. This confirmation will be mentioned in the auditor's report.

h) The giving of directions or the imposing of restrictions on the trustees – here the trustees can be given directions and/or restrictions.

i) Any special business of which due notice has been given in terms of Management Rule 54 – this business must be detailed on the agenda, it may not be resolved if it is not. Should you wish any special business to be discussed at the AGM you should put this in writing to the trustees/ managing agent prior to the agenda being sent out.

Should you have any queries regarding any item on the agenda – these need to be put in writing to the managing agent 48 hours prior. This especially involves the auditor's report – your query may have to be taken up with the auditor – so asking a question at the meeting, the chairman may not be able to give you an answer.

VOTING:

Voting at an AGM may be cast either personally or by proxy, the proxy is appointed in writing by the appointer (use the proxy form sent with the notice) your proxy need not be an owner but shall not be the managing agent or any of his staff or an employee of the body corporate.Voting is usually by show of hands (an owner with three proxies to show he has four votes) In the new Act (due out this year?) owners will be limited to only two proxies.

A poll can be demanded and then the vote is counted by the participation quotas (the PQ is the percentage of the complex you own) of the owners present or represented.

There you have it – an AGM can take as little as 30 minutes to complete – this is only once a year, so it is well worth the effort.

Les has been a managing agent for 30 years, is a member of Nama and has been a committee member of The Sectional Title Association of PE for 29 years.

Any queries can be sent to Les@ReynardAgencies.com