Many people live happily in condominium apartment or townhouse homes for years, never thinking of their relationships with the Corporation of all the owners, or with the Boards of owners that run their developments. Then one day a minor issue arises and it can be hard to know whether a Board has authority or is acting properly. Here are a few common questions that are put to me.
"I used to go up to our building's flat roof to sunbathe, but the Board heard of that and has changed the locks so I can't go up there any more. I don't know why they'd care, as I've kept my top on. Can the Board prohibit me from using my own building's roof?"
Yes, most condominium Bylaws restrict access by owners and tenants to utility areas and other common areas that the Board deems to be unsafe or likely to be damaged if access is allowed. Tar-and-gravel roofs should not be subject to a lot of walking, and of course there's always risk and liability when people are on unfenced rooftops. From that point of view your Board was well advised to restrict access to the roof. Perhaps you'll petition the Board to build a fenced roof-top deck for you and your neighbours to use.
"My Board has told me I must post a $500 deposit for each suite that I own and rent out. They call it a "common-property damage deposit". Does the Board have that right?"
In a word, yes. Such a deposit makes it clear to condo suite and townhouse owners that they are responsible for the behavior of their tenants, and will be made to pay for any damage tenants may cause to the property outside of the suites. Some condo buildings also require tenants to sign a statement that they've read the Bylaws and will abide by them.
"Half of the money in our building's Reserve Fund is allocated to elevator upgrades in two years, but our Board said we need new heating boilers, so has emptied the fund to pay for those. I don't think they should have done that; how are we going to pay for the elevators?"
Condos Boards have a right and even a duty to repair or replace whatever wears out first, regardless of the priorities suggested in a Reserve-Fund Report. It would not be a good choice for the Board to let the building freeze over the winter so that it would have money for elevators in two years. Now the building is toasty warm and the Board has two years to plan for funding of the elevator upgrades.
"As the first buyer into our condo building I got the extra-wide parking stall right next to the elevator. Now I've been told to park in a regular-sized stall down the row because a wheelchair-bound fellow has bought a suite. I feel for him, but it's not fair to me, as I was here first. Can I sue?"
Sure you can sue, but winning will be difficult. Every agency and corporation in Canada has a duty of "reasonable accommodation" to those with special needs. It sounds like the parking in your building is assigned common property, which means the Board speaks for all the owners with a right and even a duty to assign the parking stalls according to owners' and residents' needs. This may extend to spending some of your building's money to install an automatic door opener or a wheelchair ramp. Your parking-stall issue would not have arisen if you'd bought in a building where the parking stalls were titled private property. Now I hope that you'll introduce yourself to the wheelchair-bound fellow and offer to hold the door open for him.
"I'm selling my suite and need various condominium documents. The manager that our Board employs has told me to buy them from a fee-for-service web site. But I'm an owner in the building and these are really my own documents, so why should I pay for them?"
You're right; you should NOT have to pay for those documents. Your Board should have created a simple web site and posted documents for you to download at no cost and for prospective buyers to read at will. My own web site even offers to host on its Condo Directory all documents on behalf of any Calgary condo corporation at no charge. Still, there's no obligation for condo Boards to take such an initiative and management firms are authorized by Alberta's Condo Property Act to charge a reasonable fee for your documents. While some still run the photocopier, most management firms now work through a fee-for-service documents web site.
Calgary Condominium Directory
