The Tribunal’s Jurisdiction

The Condominium Authority Tribunal can help resolve specific condo disputes about records, pets, vehicles, parking and storage, nuisances, and compliance with settlement agreements.

It depends. We can resolve disputes related to chargebacks or liens about issues already within our jurisdiction, but not anything additional.

For example, the CAT does not have jurisdiction over repair and maintenance issues, so any chargeback or lien dispute relating to owners failing to repair their unit or common elements cannot be dealt with at the Tribunal.

The CAT has jurisdiction over how parking is governed, so issues related to charges about parking enforcement, damages or compensation in the condo can be resolved at the Tribunal. A real-life example of this would be a condo owner being charged back costs by a condo corporation for having to tow their vehicle and writing them a legal letter asking them not to park at a specific spot. The owner could dispute these charges at the CAT either for being unreasonable or unwarranted.

Only if certain conditions are met. First, your condo corporation must have provisions in its rules or by-laws dealing with harassment. Second, the harassment must not be so severe as to be likely to cause illness or injury.

Parties involved in a Tribunal case can agree to resolve their dispute through a negotiated or mediated settlement agreement. The Tribunal issues the agreement, which all parties must follow.

Settlement agreements help parties resolve disputes collaboratively at any stage of a Tribunal case.

A party who believes another party is not complying with a settlement agreement from a previous case can file a new application asking the Tribunal to order them to comply.

This type of application must be filed within six months of another party’s failure to comply.

There are certain types of disputes that the Tribunal cannot deal with, including issues that:

• Involve matters that are likely to cause damage to property or cause injury or illness to a person.
  • For example, the Tribunal can deal with smoke and vapour nuisances. However, it may not be able to deal with an application about the health impacts of someone’s smoking if the issue is likely to cause injury.
• Involve agreements between an owner and a condo corporation to modify the common elements, such as an electric vehicle charger.
  • For example, the Tribunal cannot deal with disputes about whether the corporation should have entered into the agreement or whether someone has complied with it.