Year: 2019
Can Condos Reimburse Budgetary Surpluses to Owners?
Condo corporations are not-for-profit organizations. Technically, they are not supposed to make a profit. Having said that, they are not charitable organizations either. When faced with a deficit, condo corporations must collect more from owners to get ends to meet. But what are they to do with a surplus? This is what this post will […]
Managers Soliciting Proxies: Do’s and Don’ts
Despite the province’s vaillant efforts, proxies continue to cause confusion and to foster distrust. One of the questions we’re often asked is whether it is proper to encourage owners to return their proxies to management? If not, who should the proxy be handed to? Are your condo fees too high? How do they compare? Help us […]
Condo Liens: What is the Required Minimum Notice?
In a recent Ottawa case, the courts clarified how condo corporations are to calculate the minimum 10-day notice requirement prior to being able to register a lien on a defaulting unit. This post sheds some light on this tricky requirement. Are your condo fees too high? How do they compare? Help us take an accurate […]
Condos Must Step in When an Aggressive Owner Goes Too Far
As the old saying goes, “You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.” For my first Condo Adviser post, I wanted to review a recent decision that sets out two key statutory duties imposed on a condo corporation when faced with a potentially aggressive condo owner. The facts of Ottawa Carleton Standard […]
Are your Condo Fees Too High?
Common expenses (commonly referred to as “condo fees”) are a recurring grievance for those living in condos. They seem to always go up; they seem to never cover enough and owners often feel they have no control over them. In this post we discuss what goes into the calculation of common expenses. NEW: Take our […]
Court Upholds Condo Smoking Ban
In what may be the first case of its kind (at least as it pertains to cannabis), the Québec Superior Court of Justice recently upheld the legality and enforceability of a condo rule preventing tobacco and cannabis smoking inside units and in enclosed common elements. This is good news for those wishing to enforce similar […]
Condos Must Notify Owners Before They Commence Lawsuits
In a recent decision, the court analyzed the circumstances under which a condo corporation must notify its owners of its intention to commence a lawsuit. In most cases, such a notification must be provide before the lawsuit is even commenced. Failure to do so may invalidate the legal proceeding. This can have dire consequences if, in […]
Can Condo Boards Take Decisions by Email?
Our last post on whether condo owners could access Board emails triggered quite the reaction from our readers. Many wondered whether condo boards could take decisions secretarially, by email, between meetings. Here’s the answer. In theory, the answer is “no”…. But what about in practice though? Read on. Are your condo fees too high? How do […]
Not all Condo By-laws Require an Absolute Majority to Pass
As most of our readers know, condominium by-laws in Ontario can only be adopted if approved by at least a majority of all registered units. But this is not true of all by-laws. Some can be adopted by a “simple majority”. This post is about those. What’s a by-law? We’ve blog already on the difference between […]