Should Condo Owners be Able to Get Information About Other Owners?
We are often asked whether condo owners are entitled to get the list of names and addresses of the other owners. Some feel that owners should be able to know who the other owners are and should be able to communicate with them. Others are concerned that such disclosure may infringe on the privacy of others. So, what’s the score on this?
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Can owners access the name and address of other owners?
Pursuant to section 46.1 of the Condo Act, condominium corporations must maintain a record with:
- the owner’s name;
- the identification of the unit (which may be the full address or what I’ll refer to as the “legal description” for the sake of brevity);
- the address of service for each owner – although there seems to be an odd exception if the address of service is not in Ontario.
This record forms part of the records of the corporation.
Condo corporations must permit owners (as well as purchasers or mortgagees of a unit) to examine or obtain copies of the corporation’s records. There are exceptions however to this right to access condo records. Indeed, the right to access corporation’s records does not apply to:
- records relating to employees of the corporation, except for contracts of employment involving the corporation. Those can be accessed;
- records relating to actual or contemplated litigation or insurance investigations involving the corporation; and
- records relating to other units or owners.
At first, glance, the third exception above seems to indicate that owners cannot obtain records relating to other owners. This makes a lot of sense considering that information pertaining to others is often private and confidential. Many had interpreted this provision under the former version of the Condo Act, as preventing owners from accessing the list of names and addresses of owners.
Recent amendments to the Condo Act however, have clarified this point. Indeed, section 55(5)c) of the Act specifically provide that owners (as well as purchasers or mortgagees) are entitled to examine or obtain a copy of the list of names, unit identification and addresses for service of other owners.
Our reading of the Act and regulations leads us to conclude, however, that owners are not entitled to access the phone number or email address of other owners – even if owners have opted to receive electronic notifications from the corporation.
Owners wishing to access the list of owners must follow the process set out under section 55 of the Act and must use the prescribed forms. You can access the prescribed forms by clicking on the “Forms” tab at the top of this page.