The Prescribed Management Rules for bodies corporate are very clear on the procedures and duties of a chairperson, but it should be remembered, too, that a chairperson has no “special powers” in the day to day running of the scheme. He or she is just a normal trustee of the body corporate and the main role of the chairman is to run proceedings at meetings.
The only time the chairperson has power over any other is when there is a deadlock at a trustee meeting. The chairperson will have the deciding or casting vote in this case, said Michael Bauer, general manager of the property management company, IHFM.
The chairperson would usually be elected at the start of the first meeting of trustees after that year’s AGM and this chairman will hold office until the end of the next AGM.
In PMR 19, there is allowance made for the removal of a chairperson by the trustees at a trustee meeting or by the body corporate at a special meeting once notice has been given to all that that is the trustees’ intention. A new chairperson must be elected if this does happen or if the elected chair chooses to resign. A new chairperson must then be elected for the remainder of the period, according to PMR 20.
It is also possible, according to PMR 21, that if the chairperson vacates his position during a meeting or for some reason cannot be present, the trustees can choose another chairperson for that meeting, and he or she will have the same rights during voting as the actual chairperson, said Bauer.
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