We are a Body Corporate inside an HOA – we are forced to pay an HOA levy for each unit in our scheme but at an HOA meeting the Body Corporate as a whole only has one vote. How is this possible?
Layered estates – where there is an HOA with one or many Bodies Corporate as part of the Estate can be very tricky sometimes. From a Managing Agent perspective, it is sometimes easier if we manage the whole Estate (the HOA as well as all the Bodies Corporate inside) but this cannot be forced on the different entities.
Where it is a layered scheme with complexes within the main estate the MOI / Constitution must clearly define who will be seen as the member. In some instances, the stand owner is seen as the member – for instance where there is a Body Corporate built on one of the stands in the complex the Body Corporate will be viewed as the member; and in some instances, the MOI / Constitution defines membership to be all the unit owners in a sectional title scheme as well.
In the example from an MOI below the BC is one member of the HOA
In the example below the member is identified to be the registered owner of a Sectional title unit in the scheme
The MOI or Constitution also defines who pays levies and who can vote (how many votes).
In this example each member (including the BC) only has one vote
If the BC is the member, then they should pay one levy to the HOA and have one vote when it comes to HOA matters.
If the individual Sectional title units are all members of the HOA, then they should each pay a levy and each have a vote when it comes to HOA matters.
You cannot have a situation where the ST units each pay a levy but as a Body Corporate, they only have one vote at the HOA.