Five open houses on condo rules scheduled before new regulations take their final form

Changes to condo legislation proposed in 2014 are inching closer to reality, with a series of five open houses across the province.

Provincial condominium legislation was amended in 2014 and the government is now crafting regulations to support those amendments, Service Alberta Minister Stephanie McLean told the meeting Thursday at the Lister Centre on the University of Alberta campus.

None of those amendments has been proclaimed.

The previous government didn’t plan to do the work for a long time and McLean said she expedited the process.

“It was too long in the tooth and it needed to be rolled out ASAP and it fits in very well with our focus on protecting consumers and creating consumer confidence in a downturn,” McLean said.

The open houses will be followed by an online survey.

One of the biggest issues McLean has seen is dispute resolution with a property manager or condo board.

“Unfortunately, the end result for folks right now is the courts,” she said adding the province is working towards a dispute resolution tribunal.

Mike Marks and Clara Marks have lived in a condo for about a decade and hope age restrictions will be grandfathered into the new legislation.

“They don’t want a bunch of kids rattling around,” Clara Marks said. “It’s peaceful and quiet, there’s no motorcycles and bikes and that sort

(The process) needed to be rolled out ASAP and it fits in very well with our focus on protecting consumers ...

of thing.”

Koshin Mohomoud moved from Vancouver to Edmonton about a year ago. Currently, he is renting, but hopes to buy a condo and attended the open house to learn more.

“I’ve been told by a lot of people it’s too pricey to own condos and you’re better off purchasing a house if you’re going to buy property,” Mohomoud said. “I’m a single individual. I don’t need that much space.”

The next open houses will be held in Lethbridge and Fort McMurray.

“We’re hoping to have it all wrapped up with a nice little bow on it before the end of 2018,” McLean said.