Conflicts of interest can be confusing, people often toss the idea around without clearly identifying whether there is an issue, they just think there is. The key issue is usually in respect of a Committee member, where a personal interest may compromise their discharge of duties as a Committee member – the classic example being where the Committee is voting on engaging a provider and a member may have an interest in one of the candidates, or even be one of the candidates.
Anyway.
(i) Answer – NO. Yes they have an interest in the proposed renovation, but if you extend that you can say any owner has an interest in most stuff to do with the scheme?
(ii) Answer – YES they should be able to vote. Note in a lot of conflict of interest scenarios the relevant person is allowed to vote when they declare their interest.
(iii) Answer – NO this is not a conflict. This is different from the owner with an interest voting on the selection of a candidate to be engaged – they may benefit from the renovation going ahead, but that doesn’t mean it is a conflict, the key issue here is the actual renovation, not the party doing it, i.e. the owners are not voting on who is to do the renovations?
(iv) Why shouldn’t they be allowed to vote?