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CONDO OWNERS need a little help from government to even the playing field #condoliving #abrealtors #condos #condbuyers

  • wecare994
  • Feb 6
  • 4 min read

Very recently the topic of ordinary resolutions came up in a couple of scenarios on social media and I’ve been involved in drafting some resolutions for a couple of owners trying to use this tool to make change in their communities as well.  The problem for many owners looking to try and direct their board using an ordinary resolution which is in theory a great tool for condo owners, falls flat because it can’t be delivered. Owners can never find enough other owners to organize and gather support for the ordinary resolution and for the most part that’s not because the other owners don’t support. Its because they can’t contact or find other owners in their condo corporation.


Many property managers use the Privacy Act to maintain owner contact information from owners and boards. Often even board members are refused owner contact lists. This move shines a light directly on property managers who are attempting to control condo corporations and inexperienced and unknowledgeable boards are falling for it. Now, let me clarify here, not all property managers act in a deceitful manner if they don’t provide contact lists and of course sometimes practices become convention, and no one stops to think about if it should be a convention or throw out with the trash.  All boards should have access and the ability to contact their owners at any time but at the very least in emergencies. Are there never any times the board wants to talk to the owners directly? Our MLAs and MPs provide more communication and updates to owners than a lot of boards.


 Boards should be able to have discussions with their owners without the property manager. They should be having meetings and gatherings with their owners so they can understand and learn about the issues in the building and tell them how well the property manager is doing. How can you create a budget if you don’t know the problems or issues in the building? Contact and communication is essential between the owners and the board.  


Securityholders can access contact information for other securityholders


In the Corporate and Securities industries debentureholders and shareholders can obtain a list of the other investors by sending an undertaking to the Trustee in private securities holdings or to Broadridge for publicly traded companies. Why all the secrecy in the condominium industry. Corporations or owners can receive a list of the majority of securityholders unless they are OBOs which means an “objecting beneficial owner”, they become OBOs when they indicate that they don’t want their information to be provided in certain situations.  Corporations and disgruntled securityholders can obtain a list of the holder’s name and address and send them documents pertaining to issues they are having with the company. This is how securityholders ensure they get paid during corporate defaults they pull a list of holders and organize amongst themselves in efforts to effect change or take legal action to protect their investment. 


Boards can easily overcome the frustrations for owners by developing a privacy policy. They can include it in their welcome packages or on online portals etc. the policy can ask owners if they authorize the board to disclose contact information in certain circumstances.  If property managers continue to refuse to provide contact lists to owners, then a mechanism for owners to provide their information to some kind of online registration system needs to be developed. The process doesn’t have to be complicated just a place where owners could go and register their name and contact information so that in a situation where owners need to make change through resolution, they have a fighting chance to make that change.  Condo owners can choose outside of their board and property manager whether other owners can contact them if there was some online registration system.


Condo owners need a few more concessions, they’ve been overlooked for too long and they need some help to level the playing field so boards start learning how to adopt better governance practices.  Owners who live away from their properties have an even more difficult time. They have no idea why they can’t keep tenants and many of the things that go wrong in the building but never make it to the minutes.  If owners can’t contact each other how can they look after their investment? Who else is going to tell them what is really going on in the building but other owners.  One of the reasons people buy condos is so someone else mows the lawn and shovels the snow but that doesn’t mean they don’t want to participate and protect their investment and home. Knowing you can contact other owners to assist with updates on the building is part of the definition of community. Isolating owners and denying them the ability contact each other about the affairs of the building is essential for all condo boards to serve their owners and anything else is a failure to the democratic system.


Remember Condo owners you live in a community - say hi to your neighbor today!



 
 
 

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Meetings and Events

Condo Buildings have many different types of meetings -AGMs, Special Meetings and  Extraordinary Meetings, Owners Meetings -    See below on tips for making your meeting inclusive and productive 

​Annual General Meetings are crucial to democracy, a condominium corporation in Alberta is required to have annual general meetings every year and at the latest 15 months from the last AGM. These are formal meetings where owners vote on all types of business such as new bylaws, bylaw changes, financial considerations, improvements, upgrades and elect a new board of directors. There are certain procedural rules boards must follow when organizing an AGM; notice must be provided 60 days prior to the AGM, this gives owners the ability to submit agenda items to the board. After the 60 days, formal notice with the agenda items must be sent to owners within 30-14 days prior to the meeting date. Make sure you are voting at your AGMs, you need to make sure the votes are counted - make sure your board is either holding elections through ballots or a counted hand vote. 

There are several types of other meetings a condo corporation holds - Special Meetings, Owners Meetings or Town Halls. It all depends on who is doing the organizing and the topics being put forward. Condo Owners should ensure that their meetings have at least the basic requirements for example: With the exception of Owners Meetings which are called by the owners and not formal, all meetings should include, if possible: scrutineers, agenda- ability of owners to add to agenda, accurate and properly recorded minutes, elections, voting - owners should be voting on issues at AGMs to name a few. There are many requirements to hold a duly organized meeting. For example, public companies and other corporations hire several entities when they hold AGMs. Most corporations start by hiring a law firm. a company to scrutineer and often depending on the type of meeting a solicitation agent. Unfortunately, and of course because it's impractical for the majority of Condo Corporations to assume the expense of all or even a few of those entities most Condo Corporations rely on the knowledge of the property manager and an inexperienced board to deal with meetings which affects the quality of the meetings.

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​The quality of condo meetings depend on the quality of the property manager and the knowledge of your board of directors. Most condo meetings are pretty poor which leads to very little advancement and improvements in the corporation. If your condo corporation holds proper meetings then thank goodness and let us know! We want to hear about condos that are working well together creating successful condo communities. If not then well we all know when buildings incur this type of combination of a poor manager and a poor board for too long the building starts to deteriorate very quickly. Most building come equipped with basic bylaws created by the developer included in the owners manual, some specs and basic information and little else so if you were unlucky to buy into a property with owners who knew very little about condo boards you are probably facing some difficulties after a number of years.  Call us anytime and we will audit your meetings, elections or if you assist in coordinating any type of meeting. See our simple suggestions for make your meetings even more successful. 

condo meeting

Everyone is happier with a cookie in their hand

condo meeting - AGM

                                 Make people feel welcome!         

                           

Meetings are stressful even if there are no hot topics so anything you can do to lighten the mood is helpful. You could also have a giveaway or a play a little game before you get started. Don't forget name tags for large gatherings, bring a card or provide contact information and don't forget a pen, notepad or your phone to take notes and exchange information.  

If you organized the meeting: don't forget to shake as many peoples hands and introduce yourself to as many people as you can!

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Hint: If you are organizing the meeting you should be the last to leave! This helps make sure you talk to everyone who came to talk to you!

                                             Its ALL in the Details

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We believe details are important! Set up a station with coffee, juice or water to keep people hydrated and bring along some home baked or store bought treats. Owners will feel welcome and it helps to set the tone of a meeting. Who can argue with a piece of cake in their hand or mouth! Meetings should be informative and engaging and setting the tone will make your meetings more successful.

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Hint: You'll often be able to tell the people who support you or at least like you if they take a cookie or drink some coffee. More combative individuals won't take the cookie because they feel like they would owe you something back and sometimes that's just being nice and respectful.

CONTACT US Before you buy a condo 

Working as a Trustee in the corporate debt space for over a decade has helped me build a foundation in Corporate and Securities Law. As a a Manager of Corporate Trust acting as debt Trustee, collateral agent or escrow agent, I was involved in many types of large international transaction and the biggest bought deal in Canadian history. As a trustee we were involved in, attended and scrutineered all types of meetings, extraordinary resolutions and consent solicitations. As Corporate Secretary for a large public company, I have over a decade of experience in many aspects of Corporate Law.  I worked for  several years in compliance for a capital raising investment company and worked in the prosecution department at IIROC. My degree in political science gives me a heightened sense of justice and expertise in all levels of government, democratic institutions and democratic practices.  I started this company to help other condo owners who were having similar experiences with condo boards. My corporate law and securities experience provides a great backdrop to be able to help create inclusive communities one building at a time, fighting one board at a time to bring back democracy and inclusion to Condo boards. People don't need to be fighting boards -it ruins their piece of mind and stunts community growth. Boards of Directors need to be held accountable for bad decisions and bad operating procedures and educated in best practices. 

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