Condominium Act Proposed Changes

The provincial government has introduced legislation to update theCondominium Act. TREB participated in public consultations that led to this legislation.

This legislation has not yet been passed.  TREB will review the proposed changes and provide input to the government, if necessary, as the legislation proceeds through the approval process.

Details

The provincial government has introduced Bill 106, Protecting Condominium Owners Act,2015, which, if passed, would amend the Condominium Act and the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act and enact the Condominium Management Services Act to address five key areas of reform:

Dispute Resolution

The proposed Act would enable the establishment of a Condominium Authority intended to provide quicker, lower-cost dispute resolution than what is available today. It is also intended to help prevent disputes between condo owners and boards by offering clearer information on condo owners' rights and responsibilities.

The Condo Authority would be established as a delegated administrative authority, an independent, self-funded, not-for-profit corporation. To fund its services, the Condo Authority would have the power to set its own fees, including a small fee for all condo corporations – about $1 per unit a month, which would be collected from unit owners as a monthly common expense. The provincial government has indicated that setting up a dispute resolution service partly funded through a small fee was one of the top recommendations made by condo owners, residents, developers and other experts during the consultations and review of the Condominium Act.

Consumer Protection for Owners and Buyers

The proposed Act is also intended to set extra safeguards to protect condo owners and buyers and help them make informed decisions. It would:

• Require developers to give condo buyers a copy of an easy-to-read guide to condominium living at the time of sale
• Provide rules intended to prevent buyers from being surprised by unexpected costs after purchasing a newly-built condo
• Enable the government to create regulations for standard condominium disclosure statements and other documents, such as declarations
• Amend the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act so that most of the warranty protections available to buyers of new condos would also apply to certain condo conversion projects.

Financial Management

The proposed Act is also intended to strengthen financial management rules for condo corporations to help prevent fraud and mismanagement. For example, it would forbid condo corporations from finalizing some contracts unless they have fulfilled certain procurement process requirements.

It would also give owners more information about their condo corporations' financial matters and more control over important changes.

Regulations under the Act would also clarify rules related to reserve funds by defining what adequate reserve funds are and how condo corporations can determine if their reserve funds are sufficient.

How Condos Are Run

The proposed Act is intended to make it easier for condo owners and boards to participate and vote at meetings. For example, condo boards would no longer have to pass a by-law in order to hold a meeting through conference calls or using similar off-site meeting technologies.

The Act would also require condo boards to issue information to owners on a regular basis on topics such as the corporation's insurance or any legal proceedings. It would also require condo directors to complete training requirements.

Condo Manager Licensing

The proposed act would establish a separate piece of legislation – the Condominium Management Services Act. Under this Act, a new delegated administrative authority would regulate condo managers and management firms by establishing a compulsory licensing system. Regulations under the Act would set training and education requirements for condo managers and a code of ethics.

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