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The Government is Considering Bringing Changes to the CAT

December 13, 2019 | Mohiminol Khandaker,

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CAT

The Ministry of Government and Consumer Services has recently launched a public consultation on a proposal to expand the scope of disputes that can be heard by the Condominium Authority Tribunal of Ontario (CAT). The CAT, set up in November 2017, currently has the power to hear and adjudicate certain condominium-related disputes, namely disputes pertaining to the retention and access to records held by condominium corporations under Section 55 of the Condominium Act, 1998.If approved, the government’s proposal would proclaim into force a new Section 117 to the Condominium Act and would amend two existing regulations under the Act (Regulation 48/01 and Regulation 179/17). This would in turn expand the scope of disputes that can be heard by the CAT to include disputes related to:

  • nuisance, annoyances and disruptions including noise, odour, smoke, vapour, light, vibration and infestation;
  • provisions contained in condominium’ declaration(s), by-laws or rules that prohibit, restrict or otherwise govern other kinds of nuisance, annoyances, or disruptions;
  • provisions contained in the declaration, by-laws or rules that prohibit, restrict or otherwise govern animals, vehicles, parking and storage; and
  • provisions contained in the declaration, by-laws or rules that govern indemnification or compensation of a condominium corporation, owner or mortgagee in connection to the types of disputes mentioned above.

The Ministry of Government and Consumer Services proposes to bring these amendments into force on July 1, 2020. The government is welcoming feedback on how these proposals will affect various stakeholders (including condominium unit owners, condominium corporations, the Condominium Authority of Ontario (CAO), and the condominium sector in general) until January 31, 2020.

For more information about this regulatory proposal and to provide feedback, please click here.

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