Raising Issues with the Condominium Board

Occasionally, issues can arise with condo living. There are several options that may be available to condo owners who have concerns with their board of directors or condo corporation generally. Before raising any issues, you may wish to consult the governing documents of your condo corporation as some condo corporations may have specific protocols for raising issues. When raising issues, you may wish to consider the following:

  • Writing a Letter to the Board

You may wish to contact your board to request formal consideration of your concern if you are experiencing a condo-related issue that you wish to raise with the board. Within the letter or email it is helpful to provide as much detail as possible about the issue.

The CAO also has email and letter templates for writing to your board, available on the CAO website by clicking here.

  • Requisitioning a Meeting of Owners

Owners may be able to requisition a meeting to discuss certain issues. For example, owners may be able to requisition a meeting to discuss:

o The removal and replacement of a director before the expiry of that director’s term; o A proposed new rule or change or repeal of an existing rule; and
o The discussion of any emerging issue (e.g., a board decision).

For more information regarding the requisitioning of meetings, please click here.

  • Raising Issues at an AGM

An AGM provides another opportunity to bring up issues regarding the condo corporation and condo business to the board and other owners. Owners may be able to raise their concerns at their AGM. Section 45(3) of the Condo Act states that owners may raise any matters for discussion in the AGM, as long as they are relevant to the affairs and business of the condo corporation.

  • Seeking Legal Advice

If a particular issue cannot be resolved through any of the above options, you may wish to consider seeking legal advice.

If you require legal advice, you may wish to contact a lawyer or paralegal familiar with condo law. The names of lawyers or paralegals may be obtained from the Law Society of Ontario Referral Service. They may provide a free consultation of up to 30 minutes.

Additionally, you may wish to consider reviewing the CAO’s Issues and Solutions page for additional information on common issues associated condo living.

Source: Ontario’s Residential Condominium Buyers’ Guide

isington2000 from afar