Why is Trafalgar/the Managing Agent not attending to maintenance at my scheme? Why did Trafalgar not paint our buildings? And the list goes on. It all boils down to – who is responsible for maintenance – is it the Managing Agent as some people believe?
As always we refer to the STSM Act.
Section 3. (1) A body corporate must perform the functions entrusted to it by or under this Act or the rules, and such functions include—
(l) to maintain all the common property and to keep it in a state of good and serviceable repair;
The Act states that the Body Corporate is responsible for maintenance – so who is the Body Corporate? Not the Managing Agent as some people believe. The Body Corporate consists of all registered owners. But the Body Corporate / all owners will not be able to perform the function so that is why a committee is elected to attend to these things on behalf of the Body Corporate. This committee is the Trustees.
This is seen in the STSM Act in section 7
Section 7. (1) The functions and powers of the body corporate must, subject to the provisions of this Act, the rules and any restriction imposed or direction given at a general meeting of the owners of sections, be performed and exercised by the trustees of the body corporate holding office in terms of the rules.
The Managing Agent is therefore not responsible for maintenance in the scheme, but we act as advisors to the Trustees and assist with obtaining quotes for maintenance issues. The Managing Agent cannot take any decisions on its own and act on instructions from the Trustees and owners.