Sectional Title - Are Amendments to Proposed Rules Allowed on the Floor of a General Meeting?
By Jennifer Paddock
Image: Jennifer Paddock
It is a common scenario at body corporate general meetings: the trustees table a proposed new conduct or management rule, but during the discussion, owners express dissatisfaction with the specific wording and suggest changes on the floor.
Can owners amend the text of a proposed rule and vote on the revised version immediately, or must the meeting be adjourned and re-called with the new wording?
As with many matters in sectional title governance, the short answer is: it depends. In this case, it depends on the nature of the change.
The Governing Legal Principle: Protecting Member Rights
Under the Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act 8 of 2011 (STSMA), the adoption of a new rule must be approved by unanimous resolution in the case of a management rule, or by special resolution in the case of a conduct rule. Where such a resolution is to be considered at a general meeting, the body corporate must give owners at least 30 days’ notice, and the notice must include the wording of the proposed resolution, including the text of the proposed rule itself.
The statutory requirement to include the text of the proposed rule in the meeting notice exists to protect owners’ rights. Owners who choose not to attend a meeting – or who submit a proxy – make that decision based on the exact wording circulated in the notice.
Passing a substantially altered rule on the floor deprives absent owners of their right to consider and vote on the rule that actually gets adopted.
The Two Categories of Amendments
When a motion is made to change the wording of a proposed rule on the floor of a meeting, trustees and chairpersons must categorise the proposed change into one of two buckets:
1. Minor or Textual Amendments (Allowed Immediately)
If the proposed edit is a minor clarification, a typo correction, or a slight adjustment that does not expand the scope or alter the fundamental intent of the rule that was circulated, owners present at the meeting may amend the motion and vote on the revised text immediately.
- Example: The circulated rule proposes a noise curfew starting at 21:00 on weekdays, and members move to adjust the time to 22:00. Because this softens the restriction without expanding its scope or introducing a brand-new restriction, it can be voted on at the meeting.
2. Substantive or Material Amendments (Not Allowed Immediately)
If the proposed edit introduces a substantive change – meaning it fundamentally alters the intent, legal impact, or scope of the rule originally sent out – it cannot be voted on or approved at that meeting.
- Example: The circulated notice proposes a complete ban on pets, but members on the floor agree instead to allow small dogs. Because this fundamentally changes the nature of the rule from a prohibition to a conditional allowance, absent owners were not given fair notice.
Recommended Procedure for Trustees, Chairpersons and Managing Agents
If owners insist on a substantive change to a proposed rule during a meeting:
- Do not take a vote on the new substantive text.
- Minute the feedback: Formally record in the minutes that the proposed rule was not approved or was withdrawn by the trustees due to owner feedback.
- Redraft and re-notify: Redraft the proposed rule incorporating the owners’ input.
- Call a new meeting: Issue a fresh notice attaching the newly revised rule text, giving the full statutory notice period required by the STSMA.
Adhering to this distinction ensures that rule amendments remain legally sound, fair to all owners, and less vulnerable to challenge or rejection by the Community Schemes Ombud Service.
Courtesy: Paddocks
Article reference: Paddocks Press: September 2026, Volume 21, Issue 8
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution license.
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