Trustee resign one Trustee left

One of the Trustees resigned and then a couple of days later he wanted to retract his resignation – how does this work? And also as a result of his resignation, I am now the only Trustee left – what does the ST Legislation say about this?

When a Trustee resigns they cannot just retract their resignation a number of days after the fact.  But it is possible for the remaining Trustees to co-opt this person again – if the vacancy has not yet been filled.  For instance, if the AGM decided there must be 5 Trustees and one resigns then there is a vacancy that can be filled to get back to 5.  But the Trustees can only fill vacancies – not co-opt more than that – in other words, they cannot co-opt two people and now have 6 Trustees. 

The STSM Act states the following:

PMR 7

(5) If a trustee ceases to hold office —

  • the remaining trustees; or
  • the members in general meeting, may appoint a replacement trustee.

This brings us to the next part of the question.  The STSM Act states that there must be a minimum of two Trustees.

So when there is only one Trustee left that person must either co-opt another person (could be the one that previously resigned and wants to retract it) or he/she must call a general meeting for the owners to elect Trustees. 

The STSM Act states the following:

PMR 10.(1)No document signed on behalf of the body corporate is valid and binding unless it is signed on the authority of a trustee resolution by

  • two trustees or the managing agent, in the case of a clearance certificate issued by the body corporate in terms of section 1 5B(3)(0(aa) of the Sectional Titles Act; and
  • two trustees or one trustee and the managing agent, in the case of any other document.

So it is not possible to continue with only one trustee.