The importance of the board of directors of a condo corporation

Condominium corporations are not managed by a single entity. In reality, a Condominium Corporation has 3 heads of government: the owners, the board of directors, and the property managers. The Board of Directors plays a crucial role in this relationship, as they essentially run Condo Corp on behalf of the owners. They represent the owners and are responsible for practically all the important decisions related to the finances of the condominium, the maintenance of the buildings and grounds, the defense and compliance of the Condominium Law, the declaration, as well as the rules and statutes. As a result, the appointment of the right board members is crucial.

What’s cool is that no special skill sets, knowledge, or certificates are required to serve on the board. The Condominium Law simply states that the condominium corporation must be governed by a board of directors consisting of at least three directors who are:

A.) Be at least 18 years old

B.) Mentally competent

C.) You cannot be bankrupt

Do not have a link registered against you that has not been registered in the 90 days prior to the election. What’s more interesting, and some might say downright surprising, is that someone with a criminal record can, in fact, become a director. For anyone considering condo unit ownership, the level of competition from the board may be of concern to you. Don’t worry, you will have your say in determining qualified candidates.

Only the owners can “vote” or “vote against” the directors, or a full board in exceptional cases. They would do it at the AGM (Annual General Meeting) or at a requested meeting (a special meeting usually called or requested by the owners, or by a single board member, or multiple members). When a vacancy occurs on the board, if a member resigns, for example, the remaining members can appoint a “temporary member” to take their place until the next AGM. At that time, the designated member will become an election candidate if they wish to remain on the board. But the owners have the last word.

Under the Condominium Law, the directors of a condominium corporation are held to the standard of “the care, diligence, and skill of a reasonably prudent person.” They are expected to act in the best interest of the owners and the building, and are expected to ensure that the rules and statement are applied consistently and consistently. Boards cannot refuse to enforce the rules, even in the rare event that only one owner files a complaint. Not enforcing the rules fairly generally leads to a host of problems down the road, and financial troubles are just one of many potential outcomes. Ultimately, these issues can lead to a decrease in the resale value of the owners’ units.

Since the requirements set by the Condominium Law are so vague and vague, homeowners can find themselves working with a “bad board” that doesn’t seem to have the best interests of the owners in mind. One possible solution is for a condo to pass a statute that spells out the details in terms of who can be elected to the board, as long as this statute is within the scope of the law. For example, you can specify that “all directors must be owners”, since the owners have an invested interest in the welfare of the condominiums.

When boards fail to enforce or follow the rules, homeowners can issue their right under Section 134 of the Ontario Condominium Act, allowing them to seek a court order that binds the board to comply. That said, the Act unfairly allows the condo corporation to collect 100% of the legal fees incurred by the board and the owner to obtain compliance. In turn, looking for such a short order can end up costing owners an obscene amount of money.

Furthermore, the Board of Directors is responsible for hiring a management company. You can think of property managers as the “arms” of the Board of Directors. They perform most of the tasks necessary to keep a building tidy, including but not limited to: collecting all fees from owners in a timely manner, ensuring bills are paid, maintaining proper records, maintaining adequate insurance, providing recommendations related to policies and procedures, execution of the application based on policies and procedures, handling of tasks associated with maintenance and much, much more.

Appointing the right board members is absolutely crucial to the success of the owners. The board represents the owners and as such is accountable to them. A good board will communicate clearly and openly with owners, address resident complaints, follow and enforce rules, maintain a neat building, and ensure the fiscal health of condo corporations.