Remote attendance at meetings and electronic voting

Unit owners and committee members can attend a general meeting or body corporate committee meeting online, by audio link, audio-visual link or other remote access facility.

Unit owners can now vote electronically before a body corporate meeting.

This could include online forms of voting. It could also include a unit owner sending the postal voting form (form 12) by emailing it to the body corporate. 

The information about remote attendance and electronic voting that a body corporate is to provide unit owners must contain: 

• how to attend remotely;
• how to cast a pre-meeting vote electronically;
• the date/time of return for electronic pre-meeting votes;
• how to cast a vote electronically during the meeting; and
• a statement on the validity of an electronic pre-meeting vote if the general meeting is adjourned, or if the motion is materially altered at the meeting.

A body corporate must provide unit owners with access to electronic voting from at least the minimum required time for a notice for that type of general meeting (e.g., Annual General Meeting).

Body corporates must have reasonable measures for verifying the identity of unit owners using electronic voting. It is up to each body corporate to decide what is reasonable for their situation.

Body corporates must take reasonable steps to ensure the electronic facilities are sufficient that remote attendees can participate and vote at the meeting both via audio and visual inputs.

Body corporates must keep voting records and proxy appointment forms for 28 days following a general meeting.

The regulations set out rules for when pre-meeting electronic votes are valid. They are:

• not counted where a motion is materially changed at the general meeting.
• valid if the general meeting is adjourned, unless the unit owner attends the re-scheduled meeting.

Transitional rules for electronic voting provisions

If a notice for a general meeting of a body corporate was issued before 9 May 2024, but the meeting date is on or after that date, special rules apply.

If this is the case, the following applies:

Information to be given to unit owners 

The body corporate, chairperson, or body corporate committee must, if reasonably practicable, send each unit owner:

• details on how to attend the meeting remotely; and
• the electronic voting information.

If this information cannot be sent before the meeting, it will not affect the meeting's validity or the business discussed. See below under ‘Casting electronic votes’ to see how votes are cast in this situation.

Electronic voting

If reasonably practicable, electric voting must be made available to eligible voters from the time the electronic voting information is given to unit owners.

If it is not reasonably practicable, electronic voting must be made available as soon as reasonably practicable after the electronic voting information is sent.

Casting electronic votes

If the body corporate, chairperson, or body corporate committee manage to send the electronic voting information before the meeting:

• voters must follow the instructions given in that information.

If they did not send the information before the meeting:

• voters must cast their electronic votes by emailing the postal voting form to the body corporate's ordinarily used email address.
• an electronic vote must be received before the relevant vote is held at the meeting.

Unit owners can also continue to choose to cast their votes by postal or proxy means or by attending a meeting in person or remotely.

Proxy voting

A unit owner can appoint a proxy (a substitute) to attend a meeting on their behalf and vote. A unit owner can provide direction to the proxy holder in Form 11. A unit owner using a proxy should be aware that:

• The chairperson running the meeting is not required under the Unit Titles Act or regulations to make sure the proxy holder follows the directions on the form.
• If a unit owner is concerned that a proxy holder may not follow their directions, the unit owner can choose to attend the meeting remotely or to make a postal or electronic vote before the meeting instead.

Form 11 - Proxy appointment form

Information responsibilities of body corporate committees

A body corporate committee must produce an agenda for its meetings, keep written records of its meetings, record its decisions and report back to the body corporate as prescribed by the regulations. Matters will be decided by a voting majority.

A body corporate committee must provide the minutes of its meetings to all unit owners, within 1 month of each meeting. Minutes can be provided electronically, but an owner can request a physical copy.

Information in the minutes may be removed if:

• disclosing the information would be a breach of the Privacy Act 2020 or any other law
• the information is subject to legal professional privilege
• confidentiality of the information must be protected on grounds of commercial sensitivity.

Information bodies corporate and body corporate managers must keep for 3 years

The Unit Titles Act allows the Regulator to request relevant information from bodies corporate or body corporate managers if it is reasonably required for its functions and powers under the Unit Titles Act. These functions include monitoring compliance with the Act and investigating complaints.

Please see below the information bodies corporate and body corporate managers must keep for 3 years. These documents relate to financial, maintenance, governance, and operational information of a body corporate.

Important notes:

• If a document does not exist, you do not need to create it to comply with this requirement.
• If you do not hold a document, you do not need to obtain it to comply with this requirement.
• These documents can be kept in hard copy or electronic form.

Some of the required documents must be included in a pre-contract disclosure statement, so it is likely a body corporate or body corporate manager will already have this information.

Checklist of documents that must be kept for 3 years:

• Bank statements for any bank accounts established and maintained by the body corporate 
• Financial statements and any audit reports relating to the financial statements
• Any valuation report from a registered valuer relating to an assessment of ownership interests for the unit title development
• Any completed copy of any of forms 3 to 7 of Schedule 2 of the Regulations (which relate to ownership interests and utility interests)
• Any document that contains information about the imposition of levies by and payment of levies to the body corporate
• Long-term maintenance plan
• Any remediation, earthquake prone and land defect report
• Any notice given under section 80 of the Act from the body corporate to a unit owner about entering a unit
• Register of all unit owners kept under the Act and any previous versions (for the last 3 years)
• Notices, agendas and minutes of body corporate and committee meetings
• A document that has contact details for the current body corporate chairperson or committee chairperson or current or previous body corporate manager
• Notice of designated resolution
• Notices of delegation from the body corporate to the body corporate committee
• Report from the body corporate committee to the body corporate on the exercise of the duties and powers delegated to it
• Documents that contain the details of all current insurance policies
• Documents filed in any proceedings in any court or tribunal that the body corporate is involved in
• Written agreement of body corporate managers’ terms of employment/engagement
• Body corporate operational rules and any amendments
• Documents setting out any current warranties from third parties for common property, assets owned by the body corporate, or building elements and infrastructure
• Notice of resolution to be decided without general meeting
• Notice requiring an owner to sign any document to carry out a resolution
• Conflict of interest register for the body corporate committee
• Conflict of interest register for the body corporate manager
• Any service contracts that have been entered into by the body corporate

Code of conduct for body corporate committee members

Body corporate committee members  must comply with a code of conduct, requiring members to act honestly and fairly, and to comply with the Unit Titles Act, and the Regulations, and any other applicable legislation.

Read the new code of conduct for body corporate committee members(external link) — New Zealand Legislation

Conflicts of interest

A body corporate committee member must tell the committee if they are ‘interested’ in a matter, for example, if they might benefit financially from a change in the operational rules or from a contract the body corporate enters into. The committee will be required to keep a register of these interests. This register may be inspected by the committee members. The body corporate’s operational rules may provide whether the interests register may be inspected by unit owners or other persons.

If a committee member has a potential or actual conflict

If a committee member is interested in a matter, they may not vote or take part in decision-making of the committee on that matter. An interested committee member can still count for the quorum of the meeting (the minimum number of attendees required for a meeting).

If a conflict has not been disclosed

If a committee member does not disclose their interest, and the committee makes a decision on an issue, the committee must tell the body corporate when it became aware of this failure. A failure to disclose an interest does not invalidate a decision.

Service contracts and signage agreements

The term of service contracts and signage agreements that a body corporate can enter will be limited to 24 months after the control period ends, unless specified protections are included in the contract or agreement.

A control period is when the unit title development is newly built, and a developer effectively still has control of it.

Signage agreements will have the same protections that service contracts have, to make sure the conditions are fair for unit owners. Service contracts and signage agreements can be entered into for longer periods if the contract can be varied after the developer’s control of the unit title development ends. The service contract or signage agreement must also require the body corporate to agree to any renewals.

Provisions of service contracts and signage agreements

The developer must ensure that service contracts and signage agreements have a fair and reasonable balance between the interests of parties and the terms are appropriate for the unit title development. In addition, for service contracts, the powers and functions to be exercised need to be appropriate for the unit title development.

If a body corporate considers that a service contract or signage agreement does not meet the requirements of the Unit Titles Act, it can apply to the Tribunal or courts. The Tribunal or courts may require the other party to pay compensation to the body corporate if the body corporate has suffered loss or damage because the contract or agreement does not comply with the Unit Titles Act. The Tribunal or courts may also make an order terminating the service contract or signage agreement if the contract is harsh or unconscionable.