Enforcing conduct rules

Each Sectional Title scheme must have a valid and binding set of Management Rules as well as Conduct Rules.

These rules bind the Trustees, the Body Corporate (all owners in the scheme) as well as the occupants of sections. That means that tenants, employees and guests of a section are also bound by the Rules.

The Body Corporate has a statutory obligation to enforce the rules and the Trustees must carry out this obligation.

The Act provides some remedies that the Trustees can use to enforce the rules:

• No vote when in arrears with levies or in breach of the Conduct rules (Please note that this does not include voting on a special or unanimous resolution)

• Should the owner not maintain his section the Body Corporate can do the maintenance and recover the costs from the owner

• Illegally parked vehicles can be towed

• Someone in breach of the Conduct rules cannot be nominated and elected as a Trustee

When enforcing the rules the Trustees need to take a couple of things into consideration:

• The rules must be applied consistently to all owners under the same circumstances

• It is important that owners are educated in the rules of the scheme

• It is important that the owners get their first notification about being in breach of the rules from the Trustees and not the Managing Agent or even an attorney

Another albeit controversial option for enforcing rules are the imposition of fines for breaches of the rules. It should be noted that this must be clearly stipulated in the rules of the scheme and the fines must be for reasonable amounts. There must also be fairness in the procedure – all relevant circumstances must be taken into consideration and the person in breach of the rules must be given proper notice and be given the opportunity to explain their side of the story.

If there is a complaint for instance against the tenant of one of the Trustees that Trustee should not be a part of the decision making process.