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Building a Better Condominium Act
Click : http://news.ontario.ca/mcs/en/2012/06/building-a-better-condominium-act.html
Ontario is taking steps to modernize the Condominium Act, 1998 noted on Provincial Government Website
The Condo Owners Association is thrilled that the McGuinty Government is launching a review of the Condominium Act. We are looking forward to participating in the review to help build a viable and sustainable future for condominiums in Ontario that protects the rights of owners, ensures best practices for condo corporations, and preserves the value of the investment people have made in their homes.” per Linda Pinizzotto, President and Founder, Condo Owners Association Ontario (COA)
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS FROM CONDO OWNERS
We have been invited by Minister Best of The Ministry of Consumer and Commercial Services to participate with "Building a Better Condo Act" which is a condo reform to ensure better protection and governance for Condo Owners.
Mention has been made on the importance of hiring a good property management company and how they may influence a well-maintained Condo and keep maintenance lower. COA has submitted an extensive report to the Ministry. It is important for Condo Owners to understand that the Property Manager only impliments decisions of the Board of Directors as the Contracted Property Management company employee. Recommendations are extremely important however Condo Board Members need to be informed and aware that they have a fiduciary duty to comply to the Condo Act when making decisions on behalf of the Corporation therefore must accept responsibilities of their decisions and not leave it in the hands of their Property Manager. The Board of Directors have too much power no doubt and many of them abuse the power and do not comply to the Condo Act. The Condo Act is self-governed which is the largest single problem of the Act and it needs to contain diciplinary and a fine process for those who do not comply to the Act. It is no different from the various other Acts in affect Example... Traffic Act, Human Rights Act, Accessibility Act, Health and Safety Act. As it stands now it leaves a wide open space for too much control and abusive power for bad Board of Directors and unfortunately the good Boards who run the affairs of the Corporation in compliance and in good faith are affected.
We need ALL CONDO OWNERS ACROSS THE PROVINCE to join COA and also write to the Ministry to force 1) Governance and mandate compliance 2) One Declaration to comply to the Condo Act so there no confusion and written in every day language 3) a Reporting system for Condo Owners to report abusive Boards 4) The reporting mechanism should not be comprised of ie. Property Managements, Condo Lawyers, Developers and Builders because of the conflict of interest of trade relating to Condominiums 5) Our government needs to arrange a Reserve Fund Bond available for all Corporations at high rates 6) Special Condo Building incentives administered by our Government relating to energy efficiency etc should be identified and developed as a cost savings for Buidings in particular the older buildings
COA has offered a number of improvement required in the Condo Act They are geared to identifying the problems of high maintenance fees which ultimately reduces value of the Buildings and Condo Owners are slowly losing their equity. Condo Owners have to get involved, get educated, join COA and work together towards a stronger and financially secure Condo Market. We stand firm on providing the strongest possible assistance to help Condo Owners and support extensive changes in the Condo Act
Stronger Ontario Building Codes to keep Condo Owners Safe
Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister, Kathleen Wynne has announced changes to strengthen the Ontario building code to help prevent balcony glass of newly constructed buildings from breaking and keep Ontarians safe in high-rise buildings.
http://news.ontario.ca/mah/en/2012/06/ontario-strengthens-requirements-for-balcony-glass.html
While this initiative is an excellent start, Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing needs to address the inefficiencies of the New Home Warranty Program and Tarion Warranties for new construction and the limited 1-2 years warranties on existing buildings. These warranties do not protect the value of a $80 Million dollar condo building when the time period and list of coverages are similar to those of a single family dwelling. There needs to be a separate coverage to address multi-family residential condominium buildings.
Today’s announcement relating to new Ontario rules and better building codes to prevent glass from breaking off high-rise Balconies was another example of how COA is helping Condo Owners. COA worked with CBC news “throw-away buildings: Toronto’s glass condos. Falling glass from balconies from several buildings in downtown Toronto created major issues of safety concerns for owners and the general public. The Condo Owners Association – (COA) reported problems relating to glass balconies and deficiencies relating to energy efficiency supporting a CBC special featured story by John Lancaster.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0a9q_DqF1o
Value issues relate are affected by unwarranted costs relating to premature deficiencies which fall past the minimal and limited Tarion Warranties. COA has played a very active role in moving forward for a better understanding of the problems and bringing this information to the forefront. Cam Wooley’s “Know your Rights” on CP24 welcomes our input as well as Matt Galloway – CBC Metro Morning in conversation with Linda Pinizzotto, Founder, President/CEO of the Condo Owners Association about the risks condo owners face and the limited protection they have. Listen (runs 6:54)
CBC NEWSBROADCASTING ON CBC NEWS AND THE NATIONAL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZglE1czXyo
COA continues to work with Government to embrace the issues to help Condo owners ensure their safety, investment sustainability and good business infrastructure of the condo world.
The mass construction of Condominiums in the past few years has identified over 1.3 million Condo Owners in our Province. Last Friday, our Ministry of Consumer Services announced “Building a Better Condo Act” to modernize the present Condo Act (1998). The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing needs to participate to embrace resolutions to the Act relating to safety and better construction standards. Specific requirements and restrictions relating to the construction aspect of new and existing Condo Corporations.
All information and comment on articles geared to Condo Owners and Condominiums should include comment from COA Ontario as the governing body of COAtoronto, COAmississauga, COAottawa etc. COA has chapters in each City across Ontario
FINANCIAL STRUCTURE OF A CONDOMINIUM
What determines your Maintenance Fee?
The Condominium Financials includes the operating budget, surplus of funds, contingency funds and the reserve funds of the Corporation. The maintenance fee for each unit is assessed in relation to the square footage of the unit, parking and locker (if included). The Budget will include all of the expenditures based on a fiscal year of operations.
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