New Protections for Condo Owners

On July 25th, 2017, Tracy MacCharles, the Minister of Government and Consumer Services, announced new protections for condo communities that will take effect this fall.

This is great news for condo owners. As you might have read in the news, rather than acting in the best interests of condo owners, there have been cases where condo board members, and even the management companies, actually work to maximize their personal financial gains to the detriment of quality building management and thus the financial security of the owners.

While such activity does occur in Toronto, it is not the norm. In my experience, most well- known buildings are competently run. Often these buildings have condominium boards composed of retired professionals such as lawyers and accountants who are very effective at keeping their building running efficiently.

I do, however, believe that the government is wise to protect owners from any potentially unethical behavior.

According to the government the following regulations will be introduced:

• Regular mandatory updates about the condo corporation to help improve communication between the boards and owners;

• New disclosure requirements for directors, including whether or not they are owners or occupiers of units in the building;

• Required disclosures as to whether or not the directors have interests in contracts involving the corporation;

• Mandatory training for condo directors;

• Clearer rules to make it easier for owners to access records of the corporation;

• New notices, quorum, and voting rules to make it easier for owners to participate in meetings; and,

• Mandatory education requirements for condo managers applying for a general license.

Much of this will have come into effect as of September 1, 2017 when a new authority, The Condominium Authority of Ontario was planned to be established. The regulation and licensing of condo managers and providers will be overseen by The Condominium Management Regulatory Authority of Ontario when it is designated on November 1, 2017.