Duties and responsibilities of an owners’ association chairman

The chairman’s duties and powers under the law

The law and its implementing regulation set the general framework, and each association’s bylaws set out how the general assembly and the manager work, the manager’s powers and the rules for signing contracts. So always check your association’s bylaws. The regulation also gives the manager the power to represent the association before government and private bodies.

Chairing the general assembly and following up its decisions

The general assembly meets when its chairman calls it, under the rules in the bylaws, and must meet at least once a year within the three months after the end of the financial year. It can also be called at any time at the request of the manager, the auditor, or owners representing at least half of the units. The chairman chairs the meeting, then follows up on what the assembly decided until it is done.

• Calling meetings in coordination with the manager
• Recording decisions in minutes
• Telling owners what was carried out

Maintaining the common parts and dealing with contractors

The regulation gives the manager the power to provide the materials, services and works the property needs, and to supervise the staff and contractors who deliver them. The chairman follows this on the owners’ behalf: are requests closed in reasonable time, and does the maintenance company keep to its contract? Read about maintenance requests.

The budget and contributions

The manager prepares a draft annual budget covering the costs of running the property and maintaining the common parts, which the general assembly discusses and approves. The manager collects the owners’ contributions and spends from the approved budget within their powers. Each owner shares the costs in proportion to their unit’s area out of the total area of the units, and its money is kept in a bank account in its name. Details are in the guide to owners’ association fees.

Records, accounts and reports

The regulation requires minutes of general assembly meetings and detailed books of the amounts owed by owners and others, which every owner may ask to see. Within three months of the year end, the manager prepares financial statements and a report on the association’s activity and position, and sends them to REGA and every owner within a month. A licensed auditor is required if the property has 100 units or more, or assets above one million riyals.

What can’t the chairman do without the general assembly?

The general assembly holds authority over the association’s affairs, and its decisions are valid when approved by owners holding at least three-quarters of the total area of the units, unless the bylaws require a higher share. So neither the chairman nor the manager decides alone on matters such as:

• Approving the budget, the manager’s report and the financial statements
• Appointing the manager and auditor, setting their fees, and discharging the manager
• Amending the association’s bylaws
• Any change to the building’s exterior, or any work that adds to its value
• Setting up a reserve for costs beyond the budget, as the bylaws provide
• Investing the common parts, as members must approve the investment by vote before lease contracts are documented

Accountability and the term of office

The chairman’s term is three years and can be renewed. Removing or replacing a chairman before the end of the term is not spelled out in the law; it follows the association’s bylaws and the procedures REGA publishes on the Mullak platform. On the management side, the manager must compensate the association or the owners for harm caused by breaching the law or the bylaws and must act honestly, without conflicts of interest.

REGA may notify a manager who falls short to put it right. The practical rule: every important decision goes through the general assembly and is recorded in minutes.

A good chairman’s checklist

The law sets the minimum; what marks out a good chairman is regularity. Here is a suggested checklist, not a legal requirement, to adapt to your union’s size.

Every week

• Review open requests and any past the agreed service level
• A quick walk round the entrances, lifts, parking and facilities
• Follow up on what the contractor or maintenance company promised
• Answer owners’ outstanding questions

Every month

• Match contributions collected against what is due, and identify late payers
• Review spending against the approved budget
• A short meeting with the manager or the maintenance company
• Publish a monthly summary for owners of what was done and what remains

Every year

• Have the financial statements and report ready within three months of the year end
• Call the annual general assembly meeting on time
• Review next year’s draft budget with the manager
• Review the maintenance, cleaning and security contracts before renewing them

Communication and transparency with owners

Many disputes start not with the money but with missing information: an owner who does not know where their contribution went assumes the worst. The law supports transparency: every owner may see the association’s books and receives the financial statements and annual report, and the general assembly’s correspondence is in Arabic, with another language allowed alongside it.

• One official channel for announcements instead of scattered messages
• Reports on fixed dates that everyone knows
• Keep requests apart from discussion: a request is logged and followed, not lost in a chat
• Announce decisions straight after the meeting, with what follows from them

Dealing with owners who don’t pay

The law requires every owner to pay their contribution to the costs of running the property and maintaining the common parts, and giving up a share in the common parts does not release them from it. The bylaws set the rules for the amount and how it is paid.

Avoid improvised penalties, such as barring an owner from the common parts: the law does not allow the association to restrict an owner’s right to use their unit or the common parts for their intended purpose. The safer path is documented steps:

1. Confirm the amount is due: based on an approved budget and the bylaws, and calculated by the unit’s area.
2. Remind the owner in writing of the amount and the due date, and keep a copy of every notice.
3. Listen to the reason; some arrears come from wrong data or an unrecorded change of ownership.
4. Put the case to the general assembly, or follow what the bylaws provide.
5. If needed, take the statutory route: under the law, the manager’s decisions and contracts on the property, within their powers, become an enforceable instrument against owners under the Enforcement Law once REGA approves them. Consult a lawyer first.

Handing over to a new chairman without losing data

A chairman’s term ends after three years unless renewed, and the manager may change too. The risk is that the data stays on the outgoing chairman’s phone. A registered association is a legal person with its own finances, so its records and accounts belong to it, not to individuals. Make sure these are handed over:

• An up-to-date register of units, owners and shares
• The general assembly’s minutes and decisions
• The account books and the amounts owed by owners
• Maintenance and service contracts, their guarantees and renewal dates
• Open requests and the status of each
• Updated chairman access to the bank account and online platforms