Some 1.3 million Ontario condo dwellers will be better protected and have more rights under long-awaited new provincial legislation that has passed unanimously at Queen’s Park.
In a province with 700,000 condominium units — and 10,000 different condo corporations for their residents — Government and Consumer Services Minister David Orazietti said it was time to update the law.
“The condo sector has been a bit like the Wild West,” Orazietti said in an interview this week.
“It came down to a couple of key things: first of all, the licensing of condo managers was one of the top priorities (and) establishing some kind of regime for condo managers so they would have training and those sorts of things,” the minister said.
A new Condominium Authority will be established in 2017 to prevent common disputes and serve as a cheaper alternative than the court system to resolve problems. It will be an independent, not-for-profit corporation self-funded by a $1-per-unit monthly fee and will fall under the oversight of the provincial auditor general.
There will be clearer rules to protect owners from sticker-shock costs after purchasing newly built units. Developers will be required give buyers a guide to condominium living at the time of sale and the Ontario new home warranty will soon also apply to some condo conversion projects in older buildings.
Improved regulation for condo corporations should help curb financial mismanagement and organizational bungling and reduce fraud. It would forbid condo corporations from finalizing some maintenance contracts unless they have sought competing bids for work and give owners more information about their corporation’s finances and clarify rules about reserve funds.
By: Robert Benzie Queen’s Park Bureau Chief, Queen’s Park Bureau Chief,
Published on Sat Dec 12 2015
TheStar.com