Question: I want to sell my lot in a 3-lot self-managed scheme. The other owners vote down my proposal to appoint a body corporate manager, so how do I get things moving?
I want to sell my lot in a 3-lot scheme. I’ve lived there for one year. The scheme has no committee, no manager and no budget.
I wanted to appoint an external manager to run the body corporate. The prospective manager told me I needed a majority vote. At a meeting, I lost the vote 2 to 1. Due to age and health issues, the other lot owners aren’t interested. If one says no, the other agrees.
I can’t supply a Form 33 disclosure because there’s no authorised person to sign it, and even if I were authorised as a signatory, it would be a conflict of interest.
Can I hold an EGM to force a 25% vote to install a manager? If not, how do I get the sale moving?
If I asked my solicitor to search the documents, can they fill in the Form 33 and sign it on my behalf?
Answer: There’s no quick legal shortcut here, so your best path is likely persuading the other owners or raising a dispute with the commissioner’s office.
It’s a tough situation. Owners aren’t obliged to appoint a manager, and if you get 2 vs 1 vote against, there isn’t much you can do about that.
Technically, yes, you could call an EGM and issue the papers, but the other owners would still have the opportunity to vote in that scenario.
However, while the body corporate doesn’t have to have a manager, it is obliged to have certain legal standards, which would include the provision of a Form 33, if required.
Do you know who the committee members for your scheme are, as the responsibility would sit with them? You could then file a dispute with the commissioner’s office. This may be an effective way to force the other owners to take the issue more seriously.
What you probably shouldn’t expect is a quick resolution. The commissioner’s office is slow, and even if a body corporate manager were appointed, it would take time to complete the appointment and set up the process. Depending on the books and records available, they may not be able to provide a complete Form 33 straight away.
If I were you, I would look to have a meeting with the other owners and discuss the legal obligations of being a member of the body corporate and the implications if those obligations are not met. See if they can accept this proposition, and perhaps a constructive resolution can be reached. It would be important to acknowledge your own role, as you have been an owner in the scheme and have had the opportunity to influence the body corporate’s setup. All parties share responsibility for the current situation, and acknowledging that may help resolve it. I would also frame any pitch in terms of a benefit for all owners. It is you who wants to sell now, but other owners will want to in the future, and they will face the same issue when they do.
If an agreement can be reached, great. If not, you will probably need to look at legal enforcement.
This post appears in the October 2026 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.
William Marquand
Tower Body Corporate
E: willmarquand@towerbodycorporate.com.au
P: 07 5609 4924
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