January 2025
The Condominium Act imposes a form of governance for condominium corporations based on rules or laws which have been formally written down. The board has authority to manage the affairs of the corporation and acts in a similar manner to those elected to govern a city, province or country. Unit owners have the right to hold a vote to remove the elected board. Owners have the right to requisition a meeting of owners and the right to remove one or more directors with support of more than 50 percent of owners.
Those who volunteer to sit on a condo board perform a thankless task. When they deviate from their legal authority, owners can hold them to account.
Consider major repairs or upgrades to building infrastructure where the board approves spending of large sums of money. Perhaps the issue is addressing persistent water penetration. Some will disagree with the need for this work or the cost. A board that has obtained multiple quotes for this work and made an informed decision has done what is expected of them. A board that has failed to rely on outside expertise or chosen a vendor without fully reviewing their options is likely failing in their obligations to their community.
Unit owners demanding a second opinion and threatening to “requisition” a meeting to remove and replace directors unwilling to obtain a second opinion is a reasonable response. A board refusing to obtain another independent opinion is unlikely to be acting in the corporation’s best interests and should be dealt with. The board may have chosen to ignore the request, fail to call a meeting, and hope opposition will disappear.
Condo boards do not have absolute power. When they act as if they do, only a majority of owners acting in an organized manner has authority to oppose any decision and replace them.
Any condo board acting in an autocratic manner and forcing owners to incur substantial expenses is a breakdown in orderly governance whereby they have placed their interest in retaining power over the rights of owners they are elected to represent.
