Resources
Body corporate glossary glossary
30 body corporate and unit title terms explained in plain English.
A
- Accessory unit
- A unit linked to a principal unit, such as a car park or storage space.
- Annual general meeting (AGM)
- The yearly meeting of owners to approve the budget, levies, insurance and committee.
B
- Body corporate
- All the unit owners in a unit title development acting together. It manages common property, insurance and finances.
- Body corporate committee
- Owners elected to carry out functions delegated by the body corporate.
- Body corporate manager
- A professional engaged to carry out administrative tasks for a body corporate.
- Body corporate rules
- The operational rules of a development covering things like pets, noise and use of common property.
- Building warrant of fitness
- A yearly certificate confirming specified systems such as fire alarms and lifts have been inspected.
C
- Chairperson
- The person who chairs meetings of the body corporate.
- Common property
- Land and parts of buildings not in any unit, owned by the body corporate.
- Compliance
- Meeting legal obligations such as insurance, building warrant of fitness and health and safety.
- Contingency fund
- An optional fund for unexpected costs.
D
- Disclosure statement
- A statement of body corporate information for buyers, provided before or after the sale agreement.
E
- Extraordinary general meeting (EGM)
- A general meeting held between AGMs to decide urgent matters.
L
- Levies
- Contributions from unit owners to fund the body corporate's operating and long-term costs.
- Long-term maintenance fund
- A fund for future major maintenance, usually based on the long-term maintenance plan.
- Long-term maintenance plan (LTMP)
- A plan of expected maintenance over at least 10 years (30 years from recent law changes) that must be reviewed regularly.
O
- Operating account
- The account used for day-to-day costs such as insurance, cleaning and minor repairs.
- Ordinary resolution
- A resolution passed by a simple majority of those voting.
- Ownership interest
- A value given to each unit that decides its share of levies and voting on some matters.
P
- Pre-contract disclosure
- Information a seller must give a buyer before a sale agreement, about levies, plans and rules.
- Principal unit
- The main unit owned, such as an apartment or townhouse.
- Proxy
- A person appointed to vote on an owner's behalf.
Q
- Quorum
- The minimum attendance needed for a meeting to make decisions.
S
- Self-management
- When owners run the body corporate themselves without a professional manager.
- Special resolution
- A resolution needing 75% of those voting, used for major decisions.
T
- Tenancy Tribunal
- The body that hears most unit title disputes in New Zealand.
U
- Unit plan
- The registered plan that shows each principal unit, accessory unit and the common property.
- Unit title
- A form of ownership where you own your unit and share ownership of common property with other owners.
- Unit Titles Act 2010
- The New Zealand law governing unit title developments and bodies corporate.
- Utility interest
- An alternative value that can be used to share certain costs where it is fairer than ownership interest.
General information only, not legal advice. Rules differ by state and change over time. Check your local legislation or get professional advice for your situation.
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