January 2017
With a new Condo Act expected to be in force soon it may come as a surprise to many that this is not the standard to which a condo board should aspire.
The Condo Act should be viewed as the minimum standard of how a condo corporation should operate. At the very least, it is expected that each and every condo corporation operate within the law. The Condo Act is the law.
Good condo boards don’t wait for legislation to catch up with best practices. They identify best practices and implement them long before mandated. In fact, many of the best practices to which condo boards should aspire are not and will never be a part of the Condo Act.
Take reserve funds as just one example. Reserve funds and reserve fund studies are requirements for condo corporations. Yet there is wide latitude with regard to what is included in a reserve fund study, the costs shown in studies and the amount of money that must be in the reserve fund. Each condo corporation is expected to make good decisions based on their individual situation. Good reserve fund decisions lead to good reserve fund outcomes. Poor reserve fund decisions lead to financial problems and special assessments. Necessary maintenance may be deferred or indefinitely postponed which leads to quality of life issues and added costs for condo owners.
The upcoming Condo Act, currently known as Bill 106, is expected to more clearly support electronic communications. Legislation is trying to catch up with best practices in the condo community.
Condo corporations have long made use of e-mail, social media and condo management software for their communications.
Waiting until Bill 106 is in force would have been an unnecessary and costly delay in improving the operations and communications of the many condo corporations that now depend on these technologies.
The same applies to accounting practices, financial reporting, record keeping, communications and all other aspects of condo management.
