New Rules Swamp Toronto Condo Owners

Ontario’s new approach to condo directors’ responsibility creates a world of liberty for Toronto owners. However, this new autonomous strategy to condo management can lead to an accumulation of time consuming, costly conflicts that many condo owners didn’t necessarily sign up for. Is it really enough to simply take a three-hour online starter course to property manage in order to start this new authority? Without an experienced condo property management company, problems that did not exist before could potentially start to arise and create a downward spiral of technical, social and financial burden.

New Finances are Secure with a Management Company

Once November hits, anyone newly elected to a condo board will cost the condo unit an average fee of $12 a year that goes to the Condominium Authority of Ontario for covering information, training, and regulatory services. With theses kinds of additional costs, finances become harder to keep track of on top of every other expense previously in effect. Disputes, too, come with fees of $25, $50, or $25 depending on the severity. These are paid by the individual bring the issue to a tribunal. With monthly financial statements no longer provided by a condo property management company,  your finances become insecure and difficult to keep track of in conjunction with your other responsibilities.

Administrative Time Commitment is Passed Off

Condo board training includes legal, financial, construction, and administrative matters. This adds to your workload as a condo owner. Expect to add approximately 5 hours to your weekly responsibilities and four hours of monthly meeting time.

Of course, dealing with conflict resolution is on your plate too now. Not only are the previously mentioned  financial changes something to consider, the length that disputes can carry on are unpredictable. Getting into personal matters can be quite the jump.You have to be truly dedicated to your condo in order to carry out this extra management. Again, this is just one aspect of many that become your issue once condo property management is taken out of the picture.

Increased Resident Security

Hiring security and emergency response without  a condo property management company to  rely on can put your condo and its inhabitants at risk. Having in-house supervision with WHIMIS and CPR training is necessary for proper maintenance and safety in your condo. Combining this with a 24 hour emergency call system available to owners, residents, and the board keep everyone connected. Keeping all areas of management in one pool of people allows more informed safety and conflict resolution. When too much responsibility is in the hands of one person, you lose the benefit of a knowledgeable group perspective.

Though it may be tempting to accept these news rules and responsibilities with a sense of pride, the reality of independent management can pose many issues for both condo owners and their inhabitants. Accumulating all the knowledge of a Toronto condo management company in a short amount of time is a relatively far-fetched scenario you may want to re-think.

Are you prepared for Ontario’s new condo board rules? Let a Toronto condo property management company adjust to the changes for you! Get in touch with us today at (416) 255-7300.