November 2015
Determining who is entitled to vote in a condominium corporation is determined by the Condo Act.
Condo Act
Section 51(2)
All voting by owners shall be on the basis of one vote per unit.
When one individual or corporation owns many or a majority of suites in a building, the value of having condo elections becomes superfluous. One individual becomes capable of controlling the outcome of condo elections and other voting. A single individual can control who is elected to a condo board and other matters for which a vote is required. The condo corporation can be at risk of being managed according to the interests of one individual, perhaps an absentee investor, to the detriment of a majority who reside in the building.
Some believe that a better approach would be to allow one vote per owner rather than one vote per suite.
This would make it more difficult for one owner to control a condo corporation. It would create a disincentive to investors from purchasing multiple units and forcing decisions that can be detrimental to the corporation.
