Condo Act Regulations – a Sneek Peek

The long awaited first round of regulations to amend the Condominium Act are about to be posted.

I have reviewed the plain language summary of the regulatory changes and summarized the key elements below.  If these changes are adopted the following are the key impacts on Condominiums starting July 1, 2017:

Communication

• A form containing required information – (A Periodic Information Certificate) – will be required to be sent to all owners twice per year, 120 days after the fiscal year end and 60 days before the end of the fiscal year.
• A New Owner Information Certificate must be sent to all new owners within 15 days of receiving notification of a change of ownership.
• The new regulations would give the condominium the right to communicate with owners electronically using email and even posting information in a portal or condominium website with the approval of owners

Director’s Qualification

• Candidates for Director’s positions standing for election after August 2017 would be required to disclose if they (or a spouse child or parent) are party to a legal proceeding involving the condominium corporation, if they have been convicted of an offence under the Condominium Act in the past 10 years, if they have an interest in a contract with the condominium, if they are a unit owner in the corporation, if they are in arrears for 60 days or more to the condominium and anything else a condominium’s by-laws require.
• Directors must take a mandatory training course within 6 months of being elected to the Board of Directors for a Condominium (the mandatory course referred to in the regulations has not been developed yet)

Meetings and Voting

• A Pre-Meeting Notice will be required to be sent to all owners informing them how many director’s positions are available for election at an upcoming AGM and what actions they need to take in order to stand for election to the Board at an upcoming AGM
• Owners will be able to propose a candidate for the auditor’s position in the Pre-Meeting Notice
• Quorum for owner’s meetings will remain at 25% for the first and second attempts to call an AGM and 15% for the third and additional attempts to call an AGM.
• There will be a mandatory new proxy form which must be used for all owners meetings
• There will be some by-laws which would require a lower threshold than the current requirement of a majority of units to pass.  By-laws related to the following matters will only require a vote of the majority of units present at the meeting:
  • To add information to be included in a periodic information certificate, an information certificate update or a new owner information certificate.
  • To specify more frequent time periods for sending a periodic information certificate.
  • To specify additional disclosure obligations under subsection 29 (1) (f) and 29 (2) (f) of the Condominium Act, and any related time periods for those additional obligations.
  • To govern the manner in which required information is presented at a meeting of owners, and identifying additional material to place before the owners at the meeting.
  • To govern the manner in which an individual may notify the board under clause 45.1 (1) (a) of the act, and the manner in which an owner may provide material to the board under clause 45.1 (1) (b) of the act.
  • To govern additional materials that are to be included in a preliminary notice or notice of meeting sent by the condominium corporation.
  • To specify the method of electronic communication the condominium corporation can use in relation to communication by the corporation under the Condominium Act and the accompanying regulations.
  • To govern the manner in which an owner may be present at a meeting of owners or represented by proxy.
  • To allow for voting by telephonic or electronic means under s. 52(1)(b)(iii) of the Condominium Act.
  • To specify additional records that must be maintained and to increase required retention periods.

Records

• The regulations set out that some records will be required to be maintained by the condominium corporations for a period of 7 years and other records will need to maintained for the life of the Corporation. (See the attached chart on page 38)
• Allows records to maintained in a digital or electronic format.
• Owners who wish to view records of the Corporation will need to complete a standardized form to submit their request.
• The Regulations will require that condominium corporations may recoup costs for reviewing records.

We are thrilled with some of these changes and hope that some other changes will benefit from industry input before the March 30th deadline.

The regulations related to records will provide some much-needed clarity and prevent administrative obstruction by owners on a fishing expedition to attack management and Board members.  On the other hand, it also protects unit owners’ rights to information.

Our Management reports over the next few months will contain regular updates on changes to the Act and how they might affect your condominium – both financially and operationally.

I hope that you find this information helpful and I assure you that The Meritus Group will comply with Condominium Act Regulations and the Act in all of the services we offer and will be aggressive in ensuring that we offer these services economically for our clients.

If you do not notice significant changes in the way your management operates in the coming months, if your management does not start discussing the impacts of these new changes with you in the next 60 days, or if you do not have confidence in your current management’s ability or desire to follow the Condominium Act call me at 647-643-6267 or email dean.mcabe@themeritusgroup.ca