August 2015
Landlords fight an uphill battle when trying to evict residential tenants from condominiums.
Evicting a tenant from a condominium unit can take six months or more. During this time, condo owners residing in the same building as a problem tenant may find their options to be limited.
Tenants are not always required to follow the same rules or restrictions as a condo owner. In a high-rise condo, this becomes a community problem when a tenant’s actions adversely affect condo owners residing in the same building.
The Condominium Act regulates the operations of Condominium Corporations within the province. Condominium Corporations are governing bodies owned by condominium owners.
The Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) governs tenants regardless of if a building is an apartment or condominium.
When condo owners and tenants reside in the same building, there can be conflict between the Condominium Act and the Residential Tenancies Act. These two legislations result in people residing in a single condo building having different rules applied to them. A problem tenant, perhaps someone who refuses to stop playing loud music all night, can disrupt the lives of dozens of condo owners. Landlords, and condo owners, are at a disadvantage with dealing with such tenants who feel protected by the Residential Tenancies Act rather than being required to comply with the Condominium Act.
