Court sends in new boss for Tower One

The Twin Towers at Mount Maunganui.

A High Court judge has appointed an independent administrator to manage the body corporate affairs of a group of 25 unit owners in Tower One of Oceanside Twin Towers.

The application was made by Michael John Boyce and Christopher Wight de Brotherton Morgan as trustees of Hilton Jones Family Trust on behalf of the majority group of unit owners.

It was done on the basis of serious safety concerns with the building and a "dysfunctional" body corporate. That included claims of potential imminent danger to members of the public, stemming from an "unsafe" first-floor balcony above the cafes and shops on the ground level.

The balcony over Tower One shops has been under plastic wrap for 15 months, with notices in place stating "tiling in progress".

Currently there is no functioning body corporate committee after the former committee was voted out by the majority of the owners at their annual meeting on November 30.

The application was heard by Justice Paul Heath in the Tauranga High Court on Monday and he released his written decision yesterday afternoon.

Lawyer David O'Connor, representing the applicants, told Justice Heath there had been ongoing issues.

These related to remedial works, non-disclosure of engineering reports to unit owners and "patchwork" repairs.

As well, there had been a history of "dysfunctional behaviour" by the former committee and bullying and intimidation.

Tower One is a mixed-use unit title development, consisting of six retail shops and 40 apartments.

Some units are occupied by their owners, some are rented and others are used as holiday homes.

Mr Boyce and Mr Morgan own six shops in Tower One.

Lawyers for the two respondents had opposed the application, stating the claims of serious safety concerns were not new and there was no evidence of imminent danger to the public.

But Justice Heath noted that while the building had recently received a "warrant of fitness", clearly there was a need for competent leadership of the body corporate.

He has appointed David Shea, from Quay Property Management, to act as temporary administrator until February 4, when the court will reconsider the matter.

Justice Heath said Mr Shea must immediately provide the Tauranga City Council with all relevant reports dealing with building weather-tightness and structural issues.