Collection Tips – Part 1

The collection of common expenses is an essential part of condominium administration. Here are a couple of considerations to keep in mind before getting to the lien process:

1. Common expense arrears need to be reviewed regularly to ensure that the corporation is able to collect the arrears in a timely and cost effective manner.
2. Remember that there is a three month deadline for putting a lien on a unit that is in arrears. Also, the lien process should be started fairly early in the third month, because of statutory notice requirements. Only arrears from within the previous three months can be secured by way of lien. [Note: The condominium corporation may still be able to collect arrears that are unsecured (because they fall outside the three month deadline) by way of other means. But, this is normally more time consuming and expensive.]
3. Make sure that the corporation’s ledgers reflect that all payments are being applied to the earliest arrears. [Note: To be safe, corporations can state this in a by-law or notify all owners that this is how all payments are applied.]
4. If you have any questions respecting chargebacks or other amounts that can be collected by lien contact your corporation’s lawyer in advance of the lien deadline.