Unit Titles Act 2010

What a body corporate does

All owners of a unit title property are automatically part of the body corporate. The body corporate must meet at least once a year, at an Annual General Meeting. 

A body corporate is responsible for the management and maintenance of shared areas and the property as a whole. This includes:  

• maintaining and repairing common property 
• establishing a long-term maintenance plan 
• taking out insurance that covers the buildings on the property 
• levying owners for contributions to fund the maintenance and operating expenses of the body corporate 
• setting a budget and managing the body corporate's funds 
• making and enforcing body corporate rules. 

Download a handbook of operation guidelines for a body corporate(external link). 

Find out more about Unit Titles and how a body corporate works at unittitles.govt.nz(external link). 

Upcoming regulations

Regulations are needed to support some of the remaining changes to come into effect on 9 May 2024. Te Tūāpapa Kura Kāinga held consultation between 28 June and 9 August 2023 for how to address and implement these regulations. The discussion document, which outlines the preferred proposals for addressing and implementing the regulations, can still be read on our consultation website(external link).

The Government has made policy decisions about the regulations. These policy decisions will be drafted and regulations made before 9 May 2024.

Information requirements

Bodies corporate and body corporate managers are required to keep certain documents for three years and provide them to the regulator (MBIE) if asked.

The following documents are already required to be provided in a pre-contract disclosure statement and/or pre-settlement disclosure statement, and will now also need to be retained in case requested by the regulator:

• Details of all body corporate funds and bank accounts
• Financial statements and audits
•  Assessment of ownership interest
• Levy information
• Long-term maintenance plan and the next review date
• Remediation, earthquake prone and land defect reports
• Register of all unit owners
• Notices, agendas and minutes of body corporate and committee meetings
• Contact details for any current body corporate or committee chairperson or current or past body corporate manager (current body corporate manager)
• Details of all current insurance policies, including annual insurance certificate
• Details of any proceedings in any court or tribunal that the body corporate is involved in

The following documents will need to be retained in case requested by the regulator:

• Documents relating to utility interest decisions
• Notices from body corporate to owners regarding entering a unit
• 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
• Written agreement of body corporate managers’ terms of employment/engagement
• Body corporate operating rules and any amendments
• Records related to 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
• Service contracts

Electronic voting and remote attendance

The regulations will provide procedures for electronic voting and for remote attendance at general meetings. A body corporate can decide that “electronic voting” can be undertaken by a vote sent in a postal voting form by email or other electronic means. It could also include an online voting platform.

A body corporate will have to follow certain procedures:

• providing information to unit owners about:
  • 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.
• providing 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).
•  having reasonable measures for verifying the identity of unit owners using electronic voting. These measures will not be prescribed in regulations, so it is up to each body corporate to decide what is reasonable for their situation.
•  taking 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.
• keeping voting records and proxy appointment forms for 28 days following a general meeting.

The regulations will also 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 reconvened meeting.

Other minor regulations

The regulations will set out several minor changes to ensure the smooth operation of the regulations:

• the chairperson of a meeting does not need to ensure the proxy holder follows the directions on the proxy appointment form.
• a pre-settlement disclosure statement for off-the-plans units will also include the following documents (if they exist at the time):
  • details of any contracts or obligations entered into that will bind the body corporate and/or the unit owner after the settlement date
  • a copy of the opening minutes of the body corporate
  • a copy of the long-term maintenance plan
  • copies of the body corporate managers’ and building managers’ contracts
  • a copy of body corporate operational rules as registered or approved by the body corporate to be registered.

Legal costs in the Tenancy Tribunal – no changes

One of the proposals that was consulted on in August 2023 will not be taken forward as most submitters did not support regulations being made. The Government is not proposing to make regulations to determine legal costs for unit title claims in the Tenancy Tribunal. Legal costs will continue to be determined by the Tenancy Tribunal as they are currently.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development previously consulted with the public on these proposals in 2023.

You can read more about the Amendment Act and regulations on the Unit Titles website(external link).