Requiring association to acquire or dispose of property
Members may disagree as to whether the body corporate should or should not purchase items that are argued to be necessary for the use, convenience or safety of owners or occupiers. In this case either the trustees or a member can make application for an order that gives the body corporate the appropriate direction and authority.
In terms of section 39 (6) (e) of the CSOS Act, an application may be for:
“an order requiring the association-
(i) to acquire, within a specified time, specified property for the use, convenience or safety of owners or occupiers;
(ii) not to acquire specified property; or
(iii) to dispose of specified property, within a specified time”
A group of owners may feel that the association should buy a set of tables and chairs so that the owners can sit on the common area lawn overlooking the sea but find their initiative blocked by investor owners who do not think this will be in their interests. On the other hand, some investor owners may want the association to buy new furniture for the lobby to enhance the appeal of the scheme for tenants, but find that this is not supported by resident owners.
An owner may believe that the association should sell its tractor-mower and other expensive gardening equipment because it is more efficient for the scheme to use a garden service to maintain its common areas, but be unable to convince other owners that this is a good idea.
Some owners may believe that the executive committee’s decision to acquire a skate-boarding rink will negatively impact their use of the common areas and want to stop this initiative.
In all these cases, the person(s) involved can bring an application to the CSOS to an adjudicator’s order against the association.
An example of the type of order the CSOS could give is:
That the trustees of the Hillbrow Heights Body Corporate must make arrangements to sell and transfer the two exclusive use parking bays that have vested in it, being PB 24 and PB 52 to the highest bidding unit owner, such sale and transfer to be completed within six months of the date of this order, which takes effect immediately.
If you would like to see the whole of the Community Schemes Ombud Service Act, 9 of 2011, including the full text of chapter 3 that covers applications, you can access this from Paddocks’ resource library.
Do you have concerns about your matter, need assistance completing your application, or want a sectional title Consultant to review your application before submission? Have a look at the Paddocks’ Consulting page.
For general help on the CSOS, including the special meanings of the words and phrases “association”, “common area”, “dispute”, “executive committee”, “owner”, and “scheme governance documentation” see the CSOS Information page.
Needing other assistance? Have a look at our Paddocks assistance page, which includes the helpful application guide explanation, for more information.
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