Countries have governments, churches have church councils, companies have boards of directors . . . and Bodies Corporate have Trustees.
The Trustees, who are elected once a year at the Annual General Meeting of the members, fulfil a very important function – they serve as the custodians of the common interests, are accountable to the members and responsible for the management of the scheme.
As the name implies a Trustee occupies a position of trust and stands in what is known in law as a fiduciary relationship to the Body Corporate. This means that he must act honestly and in good faith and not exceed the powers granted to him by the Act, the management rules and the owners at a general meeting.
Occupying the position of a Trustee is not to be taken lightly. There is a large degree of accountability and anyone who agrees to take on this position must be dedicated and committed to serving his fellow members in the interests of protecting their joint investments.
A Trustee must at all times exercise his powers in the interest and for the benefit of the body corporate. He cannot derive any benefit from his position as a Trustee, which includes being paid for being a Trustee, and there must never be a conflict between his own interests and that of the body corporate.
At a general meeting the owners can place restrictions on the Trustees for the year, like limiting the amount that can be spent without the Trustees reverting back to the members in a general meeting for their consent.
Functions, duties and powers of Trustees as set out in the Management Rules include the following:
• appoint agents and employees of the body corporate
• enforce the Rules of the body corporate
• insure the building to its full replacement value
• collect levies
• cause proper books of accounts to be kept
• cause the preparation of annual audited financial statements
Examples of limitations that are imposed on the Trustees are the following:
• Trustees may not sell or let common property without the consent of the body corporate
• luxurious improvements to the common property cannot be effected without a unanimous resolution of the members.
I am always astounded that members of a Body Corporate shy away from assuming the cloak of responsibility that goes with being a Trustee. A unit owner has so much invested in a scheme and yet he is often happy to leave his investment in the hands of people that are often completely unqualified to take care of that investment.
Get involved, “be on the committee” – you owe it to yourself!
SEND YOUR QUESTIONS TO . . . kbleijs@ibalaw.co.za
