Are you ready? Less than three months to go...
Some of the changes to the Condominium Act, 1998, have received a lot of attention over the past year, like the new requirements for holding meetings or the information certificates that condominiums will be required to send to their owners. These are important changes for sure, but there are some interesting changes that people aren't really talking about.
- The phasing of leasehold, vacant land, and common elements condos may be possible.
- New declarations will explain how the proportions of ownership and contribution toward the common expenses are calculated (i.e. square footage, number of bedrooms).
- The owner-occupied position will be replaced with the non-leased voting unit position, which must be requested to be voted upon (note: does anyone actually think the new name is less confusing?).
- A mandatory procurement process for tendering projects will be prescribed by the regulations.
- The notice period for notifying developers of first-year budget deficiencies will increase from 30 to 90 days (a good improvement, but still not enough time).
- The threshold for making changes (to be called modifications) without notice to the owners will increase to the lesser of $30,000.00 or 3%, but only if the owners wouldn't see the change as a material reduction in their use or enjoyment of the property.
- The declaration may alter the maintenance and repair obligations set out in the Act to require the condominium to complete the work, but the owner(s) will be responsible for the cost.
- Chargebacks will have a prescribed process for adding them to an owner's common expenses.
- There will be prescribed forms for EVERYTHING. Filings. Returns. Certificates. Notices of meetings. Pre-notices. Disclosure by directors. Record requests. Requisition meetings. Proxies.
- There will be a requirement for condos to obtain an opinion on the health of the reserve fund if the amount falls below a prescribed threshold.