April 2025
Face it. There is no solution to the shortage of condominium managers. The industry suffers from the same manpower shortages as the rest of Canada.
There are about 3,800 licensed managers in the province overseeing around 950,000 units in 12,120 condominium corporations. This is a little over three buildings per licensed manager before adjusting for those that are self-managed.
The luxury of having one full-time condominium manager assigned to a building is less common elsewhere. In British Columbia the typical manager handles a portfolio of between 12 and 16 properties working remotely from a head office. In Toronto and surrounding regions, having a manager dedicated to a single building has become accepted even in non-luxury buildings. Buildings with more than 350 units can probably justify a full-time condominium manager working onsite. Communities of more than 800 units may be able to justify a full-time condominium manager and administrator. Smaller communities can likely be managed with a less-than-full-time manager working remotely.
This shortage of condominium managers will get worse as those most qualified are nearing retirement and fewer replace them.
More experienced managers, those with skills in the areas of budgeting, mechanical systems, technology and interpersonal dealings, are in greater demand and command a higher salary. Some have advanced degrees in business, engineering or other areas.
Some claim the solution is increasing salaries which reportedly start at about $70,000 in Ontario. Yet paying more in salary does nothing to address a country-wide shortage of people willing and able to do the work. Condominium corporations can find it difficult to justify such a salary to owners who earn less and must pay this expense.
Condominium managers handle the day-to-day operations of a condominium corporation. They work to ensure condo buildings are well-maintained, financially sound and compliant with the law. The condominium manager is the point of contact for building residents, and the primary contact for those dissatisfied with decisions made by the condo board to which managers report. Without condominium managers, buildings can fall into a state of disrepair. Residents can be forced to contend with infrastructure, maintenance, legal and financial problems.
Smarter Management
Some believe there is a shortage of condominium managers. Perhaps the real problem is how they are deployed.
Condominium corporations can be smarter in how they attract the best and brightest. This will entail changes in the way they hire and train their managers. Management companies can be more innovative and efficient in how they operate.
Condo boards are under pressure to keep costs down. One way to do this is paying less for condominium management. Another is to be smarter in their hiring practices and how they operate. Better management generally produces better results. For condominium corporations this translates to fewer issues, problems resolved more quickly at lower cost, and more satisfied residents.
Condominium corporations can be smarter about management of their community. Putting in the right procedures, policies and technology will improve all aspects of building operations. A good condominium manager knows how to use these tools and allows the corporation to operate with fewer employees. It is entirely likely that many condominium communities with two people in the management office may only require a single full-time or part-time manager.
Duka Property Management
offers ways for condominium communities to work smarter.
- Implement condo management software and require that management fully utilize it. This provides a central filing and search system for electronic records.
- For those without condo management software, paper records should be stored in an accessible filing cabinet in an organized manner for immediate access. Records for current residents and owners, current vendors and active contracts should always be readily accessible. Older records, those unlikely to be needed, can be stored elsewhere for retrieval if necessary.
- Encourage residents to provide an e-mail address to receive electronic communications. Inform them that most information is provided only in this manner.
- Eliminate printed notices except when legally required. Require that all management and board communications be transmitted electronically through the system. Time spent printing, delivering and posting notices is eliminated. Residents read notices if they choose to do so and at their convenience.
- Encourage residents to submit service requests through the condo management software system. Benefits of doing so include faster response, history of actions taken in addressing their requests, and status updates. Direct management to address electronic service requests ahead of those submitted verbally or in print.
When the time comes that you need to replace your condominium manager, or they become temporarily unavailable, these actions will allow any replacement to seamlessly take over.
