1. Understand your rights

You can learn more about what the Condo Act says and the role your condo corporation’s governing documents by visiting Step #2 – Legal Considerations.

If your condo corporation does not have any by-laws concerning condo management (or general rules or restrictions that might also address the issue), owners can request a meeting to discuss their concerns. For more information on how to requisition a meeting, please click here.

If you do not know who is responsible for the management of your condo corporation, you may wish to request this information from the condo corporation. The condo corporation should provide you with this information without charging any fee. Under section 77 (b) of the Condo Act, anyone who makes such a request is entitled to the name and address for service of the condo manager and/or condo management service provider

You may want to make sure you know the role and the duties of your condo manager before taking any action. You can access this information by requesting the management agreement between the condo corporation and the management company provided or the employment contract of the condo manager. You should also review your condo governing documents. Once you have reviewed this information, proceed to #2 below.

Don’t have a copy of your condo corporation’s declaration, by-laws or rules?

2. Contact the condo manager/ condo board

After reviewing the documents outlined above, and depending on the nature and seriousness of your issue, you may want to first speak to the condo manager directly about your concern

If you do not feel comfortable speaking to them in person, or if you’ve spoken to them already and the issue has not been resolved, you may want to send a letter.

The CAO has prepared a helpful letter template which you can find under the Helpful Resources.

You should try to keep track of the issue(s) you have been experiencing with as much detail as possible. This will help those you contact understand the issue(s) and what’s causing the problem. It may be helpful to keep track of:

• The date(s) and time(s) that the issue(s) occurs
• The type of issue(s) you are experiencing

Accordingly, if you are going to send a letter to the condo manager, you should also send a copy to your condo board. Your board may be unaware that there is an issue so it is important to raise it with them so they can take steps to address the issue.

In other instances, raising the issue with your condo board directly may be more appropriate as they may want to contact someone senior at the condo management company servicing your condo to express concerns.

As above, you should try to keep track of the issues you have been experiencing with as much detail as possible. This will help those you contact understand the issues and what’s causing the problem. It may be helpful to keep track of:

• The date(s) and time(s) that the issue occurs
• The type of issues you are experiencing

If your issue isn’t resolved after contacting the condo manager/ and or the condo board proceed to #3 below.

3. Follow up in writing

After you’ve contacted the condo manager and/or the condo board, they will hopefully take steps to address and resolve the issue.

If you’ve given them a reasonable opportunity to address the issue, but the issue has not been resolved, you can send a follow-up letter. You can use the follow up letter template which you can find under the Helpful Resources.

As above, you should keep a copy of your communication with the date and time that you sent it.

What if these self-help tools don’t resolve my issue?

If no resolution is found after contacting your condo board, and if other owners are experiencing the same issue(s) with the condo manager, you may wish, to requisition an owners’ meeting to talk collectively about the issue. Please note that owners cannot terminate a management agreement or a condo manager. It is ultimately the board’s responsibility. You can find the relevant information on how to requisition a meeting here.

If you have an issue with your condo manager or condo management service provider, you may wish to contact the CMRAO for more information on submitting a complaint.

Please note that the CAO cannot accept or investigate complaints about condo managers.

If you’ve tried the steps above and your issue still hasn’t been resolved, there are further steps you can take, including private mediation, arbitration, and/or other legal actions.

Visit Step #4 – Additional Help for more information.

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