Compliance with Settlement Agreements
Welcome to the CAO’s guided steps to common issues. The CAO provides the information, tools, and templates on these pages to help condominium communities understand issues, and to work together to resolve them collaboratively before they escalate into disputes. For situations where condo communities are unable to resolve their issues collaboratively, the CAO also provides information on the next steps they can take, including filing a case with the Condominium Authority Tribunal (CAT). The CAT is an online tribunal dedicated to resolving condo disputes through its three-stage dispute resolution process.
If you have any questions about any of the information on the CAO’s guided steps to common issues, please contact us directly.
Compliance with Settlement Agreements
Sometimes, however, the other User may not follow or comply with the settlement agreement. If this happens, you have a few different options, including filing a case with the CAT. For more information on what you can do if the other User is not following the settlement agreement, visit Step #3 – Solutions.
If the other User refuses to comply with the settlement agreement, then you can file a case with the CAT to ask the CAT to make an order that requires the other User to comply. If you file this kind of case, the CAT can order a User to pay you money, to do something, or to stop or refrain from doing something.
There is a time limit for filing this kind of case. Generally, you must file your case within six months of the other User’s failure to comply.
You can only file this kind of case if you reached your settlement agreement during a CAT case. If you have a settlement agreement that deals with another kind of condominium dispute, or if you have not previously filed a case at the CAT, then you cannot file this kind of case.
If you previously filed a case with the CAT but did not receive a settlement agreement, you may wish to review the information available on the CAT’s after your case page.
Sometimes, however, the other User may not follow or comply with the settlement agreement. If you do, the CAT will use its online system to hold a hearing. During the hearing, the CAT will allow all Users to give evidence and make arguments about the case.
In these types of cases, the first issue the CAT must decide is whether one of the Users has not obeyed the settlement agreement. If the agreement has not been obeyed, then the second issue will be what kind of order the Tribunal should make to fix this problem. The types of orders that the CAT can make are described in sections 1.44 and 1.47 (6) of the Condominium Act, 1998 (“the Act”). For example, the Tribunal can order a User to pay money, or to do something or not do something.
There is a time limit for filing this this kind of application, which is set out in section 1.47 (3) of the Act. You must file your application no later than six months after the time when the other User did not follow the settlement agreement. In some cases, the Tribunal may allow you to file your application even if you are late.
1. Understand the settlement agreement
Your first step is to make sure that your settlement agreement was created to resolve a case at the Tribunal. You should then identify which parts of the settlement agreement you think the other User did not follow. For example, maybe the condominium corporation did not give you all of the documents that were listed in the settlement agreement, or maybe the condominium unit owner did not pay the fee that they had agreed to pay for the documents.
2. Contact the other User
If you believe the other User is not following your settlement agreement, you may wish to contact them and ask why. If you do this in writing (for example, by sending a letter, text message, or e-mail), then you may wish to keep a copy, and take note of how and when you sent it. If you spoke to the other User (for example, in person or by telephone), then you may wish to take and keep notes about that conversation.
Your notes or copies of communications may be important if you have to file an application with the Tribunal. In this kind of case, you will need to show the Tribunal that the other User did not follow the settlement agreement. It may help your case if you can show that you gave the other User a reasonable chance to do what they had agreed to do, and they still failed to do it.
If the other User is the condo corporation, you can communicate with the condominium manager or the president of the condo board, or someone else who has the authority to speak for the condo corporation.
What if the self-help tools don’t resolve the issue?
If you have taken these steps but still have issues, you may wish to file a case with the Condominium Authority Tribunal.
You should file your application within six months of the other User failing to follow the settlement agreement. If you are filing more than six months after you think the other User did not follow the agreement, you should include an explanation for why you are filing late.
Want to learn more about previous CAT cases?
You can review the CAT’s previously issues orders and decisions to learn about the types of issues the CAT hears and how they were resolved. The CAT publishes all its decisions and orders on our website.
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Compliance with Settlement Agreements
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Owner to other Owners or Occupant Templates
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Owner to the Board of Directors Templates
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Board Directors to Owners Templates
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