No AGMs, no elections
This is not as rare as you would think.
I received two e-mails from a condo owner in Mississauga. I waited a while before responding because I hate giving bad news.
The request
I am an owner of an apartment unit in a large condominium corporation in Mississauga Ontario.
The Board has not held an AGM or any Board meeting since April 2014.
The Board’s term of office expired on 09 April 2017 after completing their three-year terms. They are still in office without any election to date. The owners have no information on the corporation’s expenses and are not allowed to examine any financial documents.
Can you help us and let me know the authorities I should report this to and let me know the rules stating that the AGM should be held regularly.
My answer
I am well aware of the situation in your condo corporation. I attended your last AGM, held so long ago, as a proxy holder.
The president of the Board started her own condo management company while retaining the presidency. Naturally, she terminated the contract with the existing management company and hired her own company to manage the corporation.
I am also aware that she does not have a licence to be a condo manager in the province of Ontario and her company is also not licenced. I am also aware that there are Superior Court decisions ordering her and her company to stop managing your condo corporation. (They may be under appeal.)
The Condominium Management services Act, 2015 is civil law so any violations of that Act need to be brought before a Superior Court judge in a civil lawsuit.
The two directors who run your condo corporation have not broken any criminal laws (that you know of) so the police will not interfere.
Your condo’s history
Your condo has a long history of mismanagement. A previous condo president took the condo management courses and then hired a management company that would allow him to manage the condo while retaining his position on the Board. I have been told that this was so he could make money from contractor kickbacks and so he could hire his friends.
I believe that your present Board may be playing the same game. Once owners learn that money can be made by those who control the Board, the political dynamics of a condo can turn very dark indeed.
The question is why do the owners of this large condo corporation allow this type of behaviour to continue? Why are you a lonely voice among so many who are denied their democratic rights?
I believe that there are two reasons. The operating and managing a condo corporation is a complex undertaking and very few people understand all that is involved. Canadians also do not understand how democracy works in a private corporation and why it is important for Board meetings and AGMs to be held and why the owners and future buyers need to read—and understand—audited annual financial statements.
However, the main reason that the owners are not complaining is because the maintenance fees in your two buildings are only $576 a month. Pretty cheap, don’t you think? The owners, and potential buyers, figure that they are getting a bargain.
“If I’ve learned anything recently, it’s that humans are really reluctant to give things up to prevent a catastrophe. They’re willing to hang on to the very end and risk a calamity.”
— Brad Udall, a water and climate scientist at Colorado State University
In reality, the present owners’ gains are at the expense of future owners: the ones who will be on title when the major repairs and replacements can no longer be ignored.
How can you depose your present Board?
For legal advice, you need to consult with a lawyer who is experienced in condo law. All I can give you is my personal opinion.
I think that you could make a Superior Court Application for the appointment of an administrator; perhaps for an Inspector as well. This will not be cheap or easy. Expect your present Board to put up a vigorous fight. After all, they will not be spending their money but the corporation’s.
As far as getting a court-ordered AGM, that is possible. This is a far more limited goal.
I was successful in getting one for the condo I lived in. It didn’t help much as the incumbents were re-elected with a large majority of votes. Why? They promised not to raise the maintenance fees; a promise that they kept. Are you sure that your directors would not be re-elected?
Alternatively, you can decide to wait for the majority of owners to turn against the Board. That could be a very long wait.
Sell and get out
Prices are high so perhaps it would be best for you to sell your unit. You have spent so much time and effort on this fight. Are you sure that it was worth it?
I sold my second condo unit when I knew that the fight was just not worth the time, money and effort that it was costing me. (My family spent $40,000 in legal fees.)