There is an unfair bias against renters among condominium homeowners. In fact, my own experience is that cavalier owners can be more troublesome than condo residents who are renting, and who know they can be evicted by the condo corporation, even over the protests of their suite's owner.
Regardless of whether a resident is an owner or the tenant of an owner, the same Condo Property Act and condominium bylaws apply, and these contain extensive authority to control behavior and to issue sanctions. In short, a building disrupted by misbehaving residents, whether owners OR tenants, is more a comment on the lack of leadership and enforcement by the corporation, which has a duty to supervise and to enforce the rules.
All condominium bylaws contain long lists of offences under the heading of "An owner shall not...". The Alberta Condominium Property Act dictates that an offence by a tenant is deemed to have also been committed by the owner. Case law strongly upholds condo corporations that police their residents' behavior and that require peace, quiet, and no damage to property. In fact, the courts have upheld an Edmonton condo corporation's eviction of a suite owner, so owners and tenants are on an equal footing in this regard.
As with parenting, it all comes down to the willingness to say "no". Rules are meaningless unless the Board, its Chair and the hired property manager are willing to knock on a door and tell an owner or a tenant that there are limits on behavior, that no more infractions will be tolerated, and that further incidents WILL be acted upon. The resolve needs to extend to written notice and even to eventual legal action, although almost always the Board's and property manager's verbal or written warnings are enough.
The right of condominium homeowners to rent out their property is protected by the Condominium Property Act, which is not the case in some other jurisdictions, such as B.C. I like the Alberta approach, which protects you and me as owners. If our circumstances change and we need to move elsewhere for a few years, we have the right to rent out our home, although our condo corporation can and should require a damage deposit, our contact information, and perhaps even a signed statement from the renter agreeing to abide by the bylaws and any house rules.
Condo residents, be they owners or people renting from owners, will behave if there are clear rules and a willingness to enforce them.
Calgary Condominium Directory
