Records
How to Solve a Condo Records Issue
Condo owners can learn about their corporation’s activities and decisions by reviewing the records that the corporation is legally obligated to maintain.
Owners are entitled to access most records, but not all. Corporations may also proactively share some common records.
Often, you can get a core record simply by asking for it and telling your corporation why you need it. For every other situation, you must submit a formal request.
There is not a one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to communicating with your condo. Simple records requests can escalate through misunderstandings or misaligned expectations. Make sure to approach resolving issues collaboratively and communicate with your corporation in a friendly way.
Step 1. Understand what you're entitled to
Records you cannot access
Let’s begin by looking at what you are not entitled to receive, and why.
What are common examples?
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- Work schedule
- Employee address
- Background checks
- Disciplinary info
What can you access instead?
The employee’s contract with the condo corporation, with some information redacted.
Why?
Personal human resources related information is protected as a labour right.
What are common examples?
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- Legal advice from the corporation’s lawyer
- Board and staff discussions about litigation
- Insurance reports
What can you access instead?
Condo corporations must proactively disclose ongoing litigation they are a party to with owners through information certificates.
Why?
Information that could affect ongoing litigation is protected so it does not affect the due process of that litigation and is made public only once litigation concludes through like CanLII.
What are common examples?
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- Owner email addresses
- Condo fee arrears
- How owners have chosen to communicate with the condo corp
- How owners have voted in meetings
- Investigation reports related to specific units
What can you access instead?
The record of owners and mortgagees. This record contains owner names and addresses for service.
Proxy forms, excluding voting information or any other information that would identify a specific owner, unless the condo’s by-laws allow it.
Why?
This is to ensure owners have a degree of privacy. Owners can choose to share any of this information with each other on their own.
You are only entitled to get records that relate to your interest as a condo owner, and may receive records with redactions that must be explained to you.
Owners are entitled to records, but not explanations or justifications for board decisions.
Records you are entitled to to access
First, its important to understand that there are two kinds of records, core and non-core. Here are the differences:
Here is a complete list of core records:
Everything not listed above is considered a non-core record. Here are some examples:
Condo corporations must keep some records indefinitely, others for at least seven years, and others for a shorter amount of time. You should expect to pay higher fees for older records, clarify your request with your condo corporation, and possibly wait longer to get these records.
How to review what your corporation gives you
Watch out for an accompanying statement from your corporation when you receive the records, which will generally outline:
- The costs the corporation incurred in providing the records
- The reasoning for any redactions or modifications, if applicable
- If the condo corporation’s actual costs to produce and deliver the records were less than the amount you paid, the condo corporation must pay you the difference.
- If the condo corporation’s actual costs were higher than what you paid, you must pay the lesser of:
- 10 per cent of the total costs incurred by the corporation
- or 10 per cent of the fee you paid
For example, if you paid $50 and the total costs were $60, then you would have to pay the condo corporation 10 per cent of the $50 fee you originally paid, or $5.
Costs associated with getting records
Once you review the accompanying statement you may have further questions about how the corporation came to the fees its charging. Fee amounts should be influenced by:
