MEETINGS

Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting is a specific type of general meeting. Therefore it has to comply with all the requirements for a special general meeting, and a few other requirements that have been subscribed by the sectional titles act.

The Annual General Meeting must be held within four months of the financial year end. For example if the financial year end is 28 February, then the Annual General Meeting must be held before 30 June the same year.

The audited annual financial statements must be prepared and presented at the Annual General Meeting, therefore it would not be possible to hold the Annual General Meeting before the end of the financial year, in normal circumstances.

The financial year of a body corporate is deemed to run from 1 March to 28/29 February the following year, unless the trustees decide on another financial year.

Issues to be discussed

The following must be discussed and decided upon at every Annual General Meeting:

• The financial statement and the financial report
• The approval with or without amendment of schedules of replacement values for insurance purposes
• The approval with or without amendment of the budget for the following year
• The appointment of an auditor or accounting officer
• The determination of the number of trustees
• The election of the trustees
• Any direction or restriction placed on the trustees
• The determination of the domicilium citandi et executandi of the body corporate

Special General Meeting

A special general meeting is any meeting of the body corporate that is not the Annual General Meeting or a trustees meeting.

The trustees may call a special general meeting at any time they think is necessary.

25% of the owners may demand that the trustees call for a special general meeting. This 25% of the owners of the number of units in a sectional title scheme, and disregards PQ for this calculation. If the trustees do not give notice for the special general meeting requested by the owners, the owners may call for a special general meeting.

Notice

Usually 14 days written notice must be provided to all the owners for a special general meeting. This notice must be given to all the owners and the managing agent.

Shorter notice may be given, however 100% of the owners and the managing agent must agree to this.

Quorum

The number of owners who will form a quorum differs with the size of the complex.

If a quorum is not present at a meeting within 30 minutes of the scheduled start time of the meeting, the meeting must be postponed to the same time and place in the following week. If a quorum is not present at the subsequent meeting, then the owners who are present will form a quorum.

Voting

Voting is usually done by a show of hands. The chairperson will declare whether the resolution has been carried or not. The chairperson, or any person entitled to vote at the meeting may demand a poll.

On a vote done on a show of hands, each owner of a section has one vote. If an owner owns two sections they will have two votes. Therefore there is one vote per section.

On a vote done on a poll, then the value of the votes is in accordance with the PQ's.

Any owner who is in arrears with their levies to the body corporate cannot vote for a normal resolution. These owners can vote for a special resolution or a unanimous resolution.

Any owner who consistently disregards the conduct rules of the complex, even though the trustees and / or managing agents have issued letters of warnings for disregarding the conduct rules, cannot vote for a normal resolution either. These owners can also vote for special and unanimous resolutions.

Proxies

Proxies may attend and vote at special general meetings. These proxies must be appointed in writing by an owner who is entitled to vote at the meeting.

The managing agent or employees of the body corporate or managing agent may not be appointed as proxies. Any one else, even non-owners may be appointed proxies.

Trustees Meetings

Any trustee may call for a trustees meeting. The trustee who wishes to call a meeting must give 7 days notice to all the other trustees, and this notice must include the reason for the meeting.

It is possible to hold a trustee's meeting with a notice period shorted than 7 days if the subject of the meeting is urgent.

Quorum

A quorum for a trustees meeting is at least 50% of the trustees must be present or represented at the trustees meeting.

If a sectional title complex has 3 trustees or less, then 2 trustees present at the trustees meeting will be the quorum.

If a quorum is not present within 30 minutes of the scheduled start of the meeting, the meeting must be postponed until the following business day. At this subsequent meeting at least 2 trustees must be present to form a quorum, regardless of the number of trustees.

Chairman

At the first trustees meeting following the Annual General Meeting, the trustees must appoint a chairperson. The chairperson will remain to be the chairperson until the following Annual General Meeting.

If the Chairperson resigns the trustees must appoint another chairperson who will hold office until the following Annual General Meeting.

The Chairperson may be removed from their office at a trustees meeting, or a special general meeting. Notice of the intended removal of the Chairperson must be given in the notice of the meeting.

The trustees may remove the Chairperson by passing a simple resolution; therefore 50% of the trustees may remove the Chairperson.

Voting

All matters that the trustees may decide upon is passed by 50% of the trustees voting in favour of the decision.

If there are more than two trustees, the Chairperson has a casting vote if the vote is tied.

Trustees may not vote on any issue where they have an interest in. For example litigation against a trustee, awarding a contract to a trustee (or their company) etc.

The trustees may pass a trustee's resolution without holding a meeting. However the resolution must be signed by at least the same number of trustees that would form a quorum if a meeting were held.