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Status of Condo Act Amendments

Condo lawyers have been waiting for changes to the Condominium Act, but it’s still unclear when the changes will happen. We’re pleased to refer our readers to an October 27, 2014 article in the Law Times, in which Jim Davidson was asked for comments about the anticipated amendments to the Condominium Act.

The Ontario government began a three-stage process to modernize the Act in 2012, and released a report containing a significant number of possible amendments last year, followed by a final stage of public consultations, but there hasn’t been much action since then.

The anticipated amendments are expected to provide increased consumer protection, as well address financial management issues. Specific amendments that have been proposed include the creation of a condo office that would provide education to owners, perhaps play a role in regulating condo managers and also act as a dispute resolution mechanism for some conflicts between owners and corporations. They also include mandatory education for directors and licensing for property managers, as well as changes to reserve fund planning. One hoped-for change that seems to be missing is to the cumbersome procedures for owners to alter common elements.

As noted in Jim’s blog post of November 13, 2014 on the 2014 National Condominium Conference, the province has said that the amendments are coming “soon”. We’ll keep you posted. For more information, read the full article, Lawyers Waiting for Condo Law Changes, which appeared in the October 27, 2014 issue of the Law Times.