Condo Forms About to Get a Lot Simpler!
Breaking news for anyone who has ever attempted to fill out one of the Government of Ontario’s condo forms!
The province has just announced that, as of January 1, 2020, the responsibility for 17 of the forms under the Condo Act will be delegated to the CAO, and will no longer be hosted on the Government of Ontario’s land registry website. Instead they will be available on the CAO’s website (and of course, here on Condo Adviser). More forms may end up being delegated to the CAO at a later date.
So what does this mean for all of us in Condo Land?
Well, it is a first step towards helping simplify and improve many procedural and financial matters for people in condos.
Here’s a link to the forms being delegated for the time being.
Consultation process on other important topics
We can also expect the government to soon begin a consultation process with the public regarding:
- Expanding the scope of disputes that can be heard by the Condominium Authority Tribunal (I guess the province remembered about the CAT!);
- Establishing a process whereby condo corporations could add charges to an owner’s common expenses (condo fees), under certain circumstances;
- Clarifying how contributions are made to reserve funds, the manner in which they can be used and how reserve fund studies can be conducted;
- Clarifying the processes for mediation or arbitration between condo corporations and owners;
- A CAO condo guide for buyers and requiring developers to provide it at the point of purchase;
- Establishing guidelines or standards that will govern how condo corporations are to procure goods or services;
- Clarifying how interim occupancy fees are handled by developers; and,
- Changing the amount of interest that would be owed to a purchaser who makes payments into pre-construction condo project in certain circumstances.
Hopefully these consultations will begin soon, and when they do, we hope that we can count on you to provide your much needed input.