This article discusses whether spouses body corporate committee members can both serve and vote, depending on lot ownership, committee size, and the applicable regulation module.
Question: I am Chairman/Secretary of a self managed body corporate committee. My wife has nominated for Treasurer. Do we each get to vote at the Committee level?
Answer: Generally, if you only have one lot then you can only nominate one co-owner to committee.
Generally, each lot can only nominate one eligible person. So if you only have one lot then you can only nominate one co-owner to committee.
If you have two lots, both co-owners can nominate and in that case you would both have a vote if appointed.
An exception to the general rule is if the minimum number of required committee members (three) has not been reached. In that case both co-owners can be on the committee. This has been effective since the regulation changes that came into effect in March 2021.
It’s not something I’ve seen in practice and would welcome any comments on how this is received in real life – instinctively I have a feeling that owners may not like this set-up, but then if they don’t like it they should nominate to the Committee.
Note that if you are under the Small Schemes Module, only one co-owner may be on the committee.
See the BCCM website for more info: Nominations and eligibility for body corporate committees.
This post appears in Strata News #631.
William Marquand Tower Body Corporate E: willmarquand@towerbodycorporate.com.au P: 07 5609 4924