June 2023
Your article on condominium financial records states that owners should inspect financial records on a regular basis.
This is not possible since you can only get financial statements once per year, at the AGM.
How can an owner keep an eye on how the money is spent if you can only see it once per year?
Thanks
J. D.
Response from Toronto Condo News
That is an excellent question!
Most owners never look at their corporation’s financial information except for the financial statements provided annually. Fewer understand what is contained in these documents, or that these documents offer only a general overview. Owners wanting a greater awareness of what is going on in their community must look deeper.
Condo owners can request access to many financial and nonfinancial records of the corporation.
Corporation records are defined as core and non-core records. “Core” records including Declaration, By-laws, Condo Rules, Meeting Minutes, Financial Statements, Reserve Fund Plan, Performance Audits and Notices are available free of charge in electronic format. “Non-core” records are other records of the corporation which include Reserve Fund Study, bank statements, contracts, security reports, and service requests or concerns pertaining to common areas.
At the very least, owners should be reviewing Meeting Minutes of board meetings. Depending on what is or isn’t found in these records, it may be appropriate to request other records. If there is a suspicion of fraud, for example, cancelled cheques and signed contracts relating to a particular project, vendor or service provider would help determine if suspicions are correct.
Anyone requesting access to condo records must submit a request to the board using a prescribed form by the Condominium Authority of Ontario (CAO). Within 30 days the board is required to respond indicating which records they will and will not produce, and the estimated cost for producing these records. There is no right to access certain information including personal contact information of owners, employee information, some opinions of legal counsel, and any portion of a ballot or proxy that identifies the owner or proxy-giver.
For more information see Access to Condo Records in the Condo Archives.
