May 2016
Condo directors and owners generally do not provide services such as cleaning, plumbing or construction to their own condo corporation. Doing so for financial compensation presents unnecessary risk to the corporation.
If is preferable that individuals doing work for the condo corporation be paid as independent employees or employed through a separate service.
One advantage of a formal employer/employee relationship is that employees are usually entitled to benefits under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act. In the event of an accident and injury to an employee, any compensation is covered under this law. A condo director or resident, possibly employed under a contractual or verbal arrangement, may not receive this benefit and could choose to sue the condo corporation.
Employing a condo resident or director presents the property manager with a difficult situation. Having a director undertake work overseen by the property manager creates a situation that is difficult to supervise. If work is unsatisfactory, the property manager may be unable to address it if the individual is one to which they report.
A director earning income from the condo corporation is in a potential conflict of interest situation. This requires disclosure and the director should not be involved in discussions or votes that may potentially impact on this income.
The condo board could be held liable for negligence of the director while providing services to the corporation for a fee.
For these and other reasons, it is not advisable for condo directors and residents to provide products or services to their condo corporation.
