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Boards & Governance

How Boards Work

Boards are usually made up of three or more volunteer directors who are generally elected by unit owners to oversee the affairs of the condo corporation.

Boards play a critical role in nurturing strong and vibrant condo communities by making sure the condo corporation’s legal obligations are met.

Summary

  • Board directors manage the affairs, property and assets of the corporation on behalf of the owners
  • Directors must act reasonably and keep their community’s interests at heart

Board responsibilities

Boards have a standard of care that is defined in the Condo Act. In practical terms, this usually means they must ensure:

  • Financial due diligence
  • Long-term sustainability of assets
  • Proper oversight of condo managers
  • That they disclose conflicts of interest

Sections 17 and 27 of the Condo Act say that boards must manage the property, assets and affairs of the corporation.Section 37 says boards have a standard of care.


Running owners’ meetings

Boards must hold Annual General Meetings every year and owner requestioned meetings along with other owners’ meetings as needed. These meetings have strict requirements around notice periods, documents that must be shared ahead of time, voting rights and quorum. They are critically important opportunities for boards to solicit feedback from owners on important issues and make key decisions.


Board meetings

Directors must receive a notice at least 10 days before the board meeting unless by-laws specify otherwise. The notice must include the time, place and the topics for discussion or voting. 

Here are some things boards can do during meetings:

Appoint new directors

Approve changes to contracts with vendors

Approve changes or repairs to common elements

Reviewing financial, reserve fund or budget info

Reviewing the condo manager’s performance

Boards must make sure to keep good minutes of any meetings and be ready to share non-confidential portions of them with any owner who makes a records request.

Directors should take advantage of regular meetings to keep engaged and make a difference in their community. They should ask good probing questions and work collaboratively with their colleagues.

Some boards choose to adopt a code of conduct for board members to get ahead of any potential issues.


CAO is improving its Director Training to include new and updated content! Please note the training will not be accessible Oct. 29 after 5 p.m. until we launch Nov. 1 at 10 a.m. while we make these improvements. Please contact us if you have any questions.

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