Question: As appointing a body corporate manager is a substantial expense, should a tendering process be entered into prior to renewal or appointment?
I am a residential unit (lot) owner in a large body corporate complex in Brisbane, of which 63 floors are up-market residential units and 12 operated by an international hotel chain. At the recent AGM, the existing body corporate manager was again approved in that role for the coming year. It appears, however, that the body corporate committee may not have engaged in any formal pre-tendering process prior to proposing that manager as the sole candidate at the meeting. As the cost of body corporate management is a substantial sum of expenditure in our yearly accounts, should not an authentic tendering method be employed by the body corporate prior to the AGM and disclosed to owners as a matter of proper practice?
Answer: There is no requirement to carry out a tender prior to engaging a body corporate manager (or any other contractor).
There is no requirement to carry out a tender prior to engaging a body corporate manager (or any other contractor). Relevantly, any lot owner is entitled to submit an alternate proposal that could have been considered at the general meeting along with the committee’s recommendation. If a lot owner did not take up this opportunity then it appears the process has been properly followed provided all relevant spending limits have been complied with.
Todd Garsden Mahoneys E: tgarsden@mahoneys.com.au P: 07 3007 3753