BOARD MEETINGS ARE PRIVATE
It’s not unusual for property managers to respond to queries
Q Recently I learned that my condo board doesn’t distribute minutes of their monthly meetings. To get the minutes, I must purchase them through the management company. I tried to reach board members to discuss this, but whoever received my email forwarded it to the management company for a response. I was thinking about attending a board meeting, but I have no information on when and where they’re held. I’ve lived in many condos and all the boards were willing to share information freely, including distribution of, or access to, monthly meeting minutes.
A You have raised a couple of issues I want to address.
First, as an owner, you don’t have the automatic right to attend a board meeting.
Some boards allow owners to place issues on the agenda and attend a board meeting to address a particular issue. However, generally, as an owner, you don’t have the right to attend the board meeting of the condominium corporation. In particular, one of the reasons is because the board sometimes deals with private matters that can only be dealt with at the board level. Board members have a certain fiduciary responsibility and have to keep things private. That’s why an owner, who doesn’t have that same responsibility, wouldn’t be permitted to hear every debate that occurs at the board level.
With respect to your minutes, I suggest your condominium corporation consider its position. They’re not doing anything improper or illegal. However, I’m of the view that providing more information to owners helps create a more open condominium association.
Helpful hint: Property managers are delegated to deal with issues that come up at the board level. It’s not unusual that property managers respond to owners as a result of a question put to the board.
Q What are the appropriate investment vehicles for a condominium? My board has in excess of $250,000 sitting in a bank savings account and earning a low rate of interest. Our bylaws are silent on investment, so I assume the provisions under the Condominium Property Act prevail. Our board is considering a GIC strategy.
A The condominium corporation’s investment opportunities are limited by law, as described in the regulations under the Condominium Property Act.
The investments in which a condominium corporation may invest funds are those authorized in Schedule 2 of the regulations under the Condominium Prop-
erty Act. The board ought not be aggressive with its investment, and should seek legal/financial advice to ensure the corporation’s investment strategy complies with the law.
Helpful hint: Boards need to be mindful of the fact they’re holding the owners’ money in trust for the benefit of the condominium corporation, and should seek advice from experts when there is money to invest.
Q As a condo board member, I would like your advice about a problem renter who is smoking (what we believe to be) marijuana in his suite. The smell is detectable in an adjoining suite and bothers its occupant. She has complained, but the board says nothing can be done. I feel a letter should be sent to the renter asking him to smoke outside. Can anything else be done?
A I assume smoking is permitted in your condominium building. Nonetheless, the smoker’s actions are affecting the life and quality of other owners.
The corporation has a responsibility to deal with this. However, be careful what you ask for; for example, pursuing this may lead you to discover there’s a problem with the ventilation system that allows smoke and bad air from one unit to get into another unit. The implication for the condominium corporation is that they may have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to fix this problem.
Helpful Hint: The board can’t ignore this issue; rather, it should seek legal advice on how to address the concerns of the owner.
Q Our small condominium has a problem owner who appears to be engaging in hard drug use and sales. The police have been called a few times. Board members hope to implement some measures to force the owner to act with more civility. We’re considering a sliding scale monetary penalty for noise bylaw infractions. Can the board pass a resolution or a special resolution? Does the inclusion of the monetary penalty require a registered amendment to the bylaw? If the owner refuses to pay the penalty charges, can the board go so far as to register a caveat on title?
A To impose a monetary penalty on an owner, your bylaws must give you the power to do so. If your bylaws don’t give you the authority to issue a fine, then the condominium corporation has no legal authority to do so. In fact, if they attempted to do so, the fine would be illegal. Therefore, review your bylaws and determine the process the condominium corporation must follow to issue fines.
If you have the authority to issue a fine, and the owner doesn’t pay, then you don’t have the authority to register a caveat. You must follow the process under the Condominium Property Act to enforce the fine.
Helpful hint: Since you’re facing a potentially serious issue with significant legal implications for the condominium corporation, you should retain a lawyer.
Q We’re townhouse owners, and our condo complex was given a special assessment to be paid by March 5. The complex consists of two three-storey apartments and 61 townhouses. The reserve fund study shows a shortfall for the apartments now but not for the townhouses. A shortfall for the townhouses begins in 2020. Can the condominium corporation implement a special assessment on us, the townhouse owners, for something happening in 2020?
A First, one would need to review your bylaws to determine how assessments are to be levied against the apartment condo owners and the townhouse owners. As you know, despite the different product, you’re still one condominium corporation. Therefore, if your bylaws don’t differentiate the manner in which the assessments can be levied, when the condominium corporation issues a special levy, it’s for the entire condominium corporation.
Therefore, it’s possible the townhouse owners are paying for things in the apartment buildings to address their needs. It may not seem fair, but that’s why it’s so important, before you buy into that type of condominium structure, to review the bylaws and determine whether or not your monthly condo fees and/ or special levies are being used for things where you derive no benefit.
This happens more often than you may think, and that’s why it’s so critical for people to review the bylaws before they remove conditions on buying a condominium.
Helpful hint: Bylaws can differentiate between townhouses and condo-style apartment buildings to address how assessments are to be levied. Most bylaws I’ve read don’t make that distinction, and people who live in townhouses, for example, are paying for things in a building they never access, such as elevator costs.