Ashwini Singh

Trustees cannot raise special levies to cover legal costs caused by their own misconduct. Special levies are only allowed for necessary and unforeseen expenses. Legal precedent prohibits shifting trustees’ personal legal costs to body corporate members.

Trustees must appoint a chairperson after each annual general meeting to preside over meetings and ensure compliance with sectional title regulations. The chairperson must remain impartial, maintain order, and ensure every member has a fair opportunity to participate and vote. Owners may challenge procedurally unfair meetings through the Community Schemes Ombud Service or, in appropriate cases, the High Court. General meetings are an essential part of a sectional title scheme’s body corporate.

Trustees may not participate in decisions where they have a direct or indirect personal interest. Owners who continue breaching a court or adjudication order lose the right to vote by ordinary resolution. Allowing a disqualified person to vote can render the resolution void and expose the body corporate to CSOS or High Court proceedings. Resolutions are the core of any sectional title scheme’s body corporate.