Appointing a Body Corporate Administrator

If you have a highly dysfunctional body corporate and have exhausted other options for dispute resolution, it may be time to consider applying to the High Court to appoint an administrator.

An administrator is an independent third party, usually a professional body corporate manager, who is appointed on application to the High Court to assume the duties and powers of the body corporate.

An application can be made by:

• A member of the body corporate;
• A creditor of the body corporate;
• The chief executive of MBIE; or
• Any other person who has a registered interest in a unit within the body corporate.

The Court has discretion to consider whether the appointment of an administrator is warranted. Generally, the Court will appoint an administrator where it finds actual or alleged dysfunction within the operations of the body corporate. 

However, the Court will not use the appointment of an administrator as a method of ensuring that the body corporate is meeting its debt obligations. 

Body corporates are considered dysfunctional when they have poor governance structures. Examples of this include:

• Unlawful decision-making;
• Persistent breaches of the Unit Titles Act;
• Voting deadlock; 
• Decisions imposed which unnecessarily harm the interests of a minority group within the body corporate; and
• Decisions made as a result of undue influence.

The appointment of a body corporate administrator is usually an option of last resort and can be financially onerous for smaller body corporates. It is important to seek legal advice from an experienced legal professional to consider your options before proceeding.

Leading law firms committed to helping clients cost-effectively will have a range of fixed-price Initial Consultations to suit most people’s needs in quickly learning what their options are.  At Rainey Collins we have an experienced team who can answer your questions and put you on the right track.