November 2023
When an Owners’ Meeting is requisitioned, who runs the Meeting?
- Is it the Board or requisitioners who run such a meeting?
- Must owners comply if a Board wants all questions for discussion submitted at least one week prior to the meeting?
This meeting relates to financing a window replacement project – no binding votes, just free-flow discussion!
E. D.
Response from Toronto Condo News
Requesting, or requisitioning, a meeting of owners can be an effective way to inform the board that certain issues are important to, and possibly require action of, owners.
In your case, the meeting pertains to financing of a window replacement project. This suggests condo fees have been too low. Raising condo fees is, at this point, unlikely to provide necessary funds as quickly as required. A special assessment provides immediate funds. Financing avoids having owners make an immediate payment but obligates them to repay this money over time inclusive of interest and fees.
Once a meeting requisition is delivered, the board must call and hold an owners’ meeting within 35 days. The board would run the meeting. If the board fails to call a meeting, owners can do so.
You describe the stated purpose of the meeting as a “free-flow discussion” with no “binding votes”. Asking for questions to be submitted in advance of the meeting is a reasonable and responsible approach to ensuring a productive meeting. It allows board members to be prepared with answers to questions. Without this preparation, owners could find that the board is unable to respond to specific concerns or questions. Advance submission of questions does not preclude other or follow-up questions at the meeting.
Owners may choose not to comply with the request that questions be submitted in advance. It may also mean the board is unable to provide a satisfactory response to unexpected questions at the meeting.
Financing of this project may not eliminate the need to raise monthly condo fees, implement a special assessment, or both. What is clear is that your reserve fund is not adequately funded for this project. If it were otherwise, there would be no need to obtain financing. It would not be surprising to find that your reserve fund is not adequately funded for other projects that have yet to be discussed.
Your corporation’s current need for financing likely signifies failure by your current or past boards. It would be helpful for your community to understand the cause of this failure and to implement changes so that it is not repeated.
