SA: Q&A Who can sign cheques? A Tenant (son of an owner)?

This question about who can sign cheques and the release of funds in a Strata Corporation has been answered by Tony Johnson, Horner Management.

Question: Who can sign cheques? The lot owner’s son has moved into an apartment as a tenant. Can this tenant be added as a cheque signatory? Is this up to the Bank to authorise?

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A tenant has recently moved into our scheme. He is the son of the lot owner. I’m wondering who can sign cheques for the strata? Can this tenant be added as a cheque signatory or does this need to be approved by the bank?

Answer: This would be a matter first of all for the group to agree to, and second, for the Bank.

Thank you for your query regarding who can sign for the release of funds at your Strata Corporation.

I’m not sure what the banking practices are in terms of whether they would allow this.

Looking at it from a Strata perspective, I assume that the group’s current signatories would be Office Bearers of the group (Presiding Officer, Secretary and/ or Treasurer).

The Office Bearers roles can only be filled by Owner Members of the Corporation. The Strata Titles Act does state that the Corporation may engage a person to assist any person appointed to an office bearer position. Whether this provides for signatories or not would be a matter first of all for the group to agree to, and second, for the Bank.

These provisions may be different again should the Tenant be a Power of attorney or another representative of the Owner in question.

Section 23 — Officers of strata corporation

(1) A strata corporation must have the following officers:

(a) a presiding officer (to preside at meetings of the corporation); and

(b) a secretary; and

(c) a treasurer.

(1a) Unless all of the units comprised in the strata scheme consist of non-residential premises, the officers of a strata corporation must be unit holders.

(2) Any two or more of the above offices may be held simultaneously by the same person.

(3) Until the first appointments are made to the above offices, they will be held by the original proprietor (or, if the original proprietor is a body corporate, by its nominee or in the absence of a nominee, by its secretary).

(4) Appointments to the above offices must be made by the strata corporation at a general

meeting of the corporation.

(5) A strata corporation must not allow any of the above offices to remain vacant for more than six months.

(6) A strata corporation may appoint or engage a person to assist any person appointed under this section as an officer of the corporation.

This post appears in Strata News #197.

Read Next:

• SA: Q&A Is the Presiding Officer like a Chairperson?
• SA: Q&A No Officers of the Strata Corporation at our Small Scheme

Tony Johnson
Horner Management
SCA (SA) Strata Community Manager of the Year 2018, 2017 & 2016
T: 08 8234 5777
E: [email protected]

This article is not intended to be personal advice and you should not rely on it as a substitute for any form of advice.

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