Unit owner’s disability must be accommodated

An owner in our condominium broke his wrist and needed help tying his shoes. Staff helped him, but when the property manager found out, they were forbidden from assisting the owner. Does the Human Rights Code apply to the condominium corporations in regard to discrimination against the disabled?

Yes. Condominium corporations are obligated under the Human Rights Code to accommodate a disability of a unit owner affecting the owner’s occupancy of accommodation. Permitting staff to assist in tying the owner’s shoes was a reasonable method of accommodating his disability and preventing an injury resulting from tripping due to the untied laces.

Hopefully, the owner’s cast was removed and he was able to tie his laces before he decided to seek recourse against the corporation under the Human Rights Code. Can my husband and I both stand for election to the board of directors — and both serve if we are elected?

The Condominium Act states that a board of directors may make bylaws governing the number, qualifications and election of directors. A bylaw, however, must be reasonable to be valid and enforceable. A court could hold that a bylaw preventing two persons residing in the same unit, or a husband and wife from serving on the board at the same time, is clearly unreasonable. We have asked to have our faulty common front door repaired. Management advised that the lock is the problem and that we must pay to fix it. Is that correct?

If the lock is in the door, it is part of the common elements and the repair is the obligation of the corporation. That is, unless the corporation has recently amended the declaration (following recent amendments to the Condominium Act) to stipulate that repairs to common-element front doors, or to the door locks, are the obligation of the owners. Such an amendment would require an affirmative vote of owners of at least 80 per cent of the units.

Our 45-year-old condo building has wall-to-wall windows in the units. The board is proposing replacing the windows and borrowing up to $8 million to do so. Many owners do not want the corporation to go into such a debt. What are the options?

It appears that the existing windows haven’t failed, and failure would require the corporation to replace them in accordance with the Condominium Act.

The window replacements will constitute additions, alterations or improvements (which I will refer to as alterations) and may only be carried out by the corporation in accordance with Section 97 of the legislation.

To proceed, the corporation must send unit owners a notice describing the proposed alteration, set out the estimated cost, indicate how it will be paid and specify that owners have the right within 30 days of receiving the notice to requisition a meeting to vote on the alteration. The requisition must be signed by at least 15 per cent of the units who are entitled to vote.

The corporation may proceed with the window replacements if owners don’t requisition the meeting or if they don’t vote against the replacement.