Records

Our Tribunal is intended to help condo communities resolve disputes conveniently, quickly and affordably. CAT cases are fully online and asynchronous, meaning that people may communicate and participate at varying times.

Filing an application should be your last resort. A Tribunal application is a legal action, and applicants are required to provide evidence and arguments to prove their case.

You should think carefully and build your case before filing an application. This includes identifying what outcome you want, how the law applies and how you can prove it. Use this worksheet to get started.

The Tribunal is guided by The Open Court Principle and is committed to transparency and accountability. The Tribunal will provide public access to adjudicative records included in applications in accordance with the CAO’s Access and Privacy Policy. Condo corporations may also be required to disclose the existence and status of Tribunal applications in information certificates and in status certificates. The Tribunal encourages you to review its Practice Direction on Confidentiality if you have any questions or concerns about what information is confidential. 

Only condo owners, mortgagees and purchasers can file CAT cases. Purchasers may only dispute access to records.

1. Adequacy of Records
   • The issue must have occurred within the last two years unless the Tribunal agrees to provide you with an extension for an additional year, although this is not guaranteed.
2. Access to Records
   • You must file within 60 days of your board responding to you.
   • Board didn’t respond? You can file no later than 6 months after you made your original request.

Please note that the board must be afforded at least 30 days to respond to your request. An application for records will not be accepted before this.

The Tribunal’s jurisdiction is set by the Ontario government through the Condo Act. We can deal with four different types of records disputes:

1. Access to Records
   • This includes disputes about accessing or getting copies of records that were requested.
     • Example: An owner requested records and the corporation did not respond within the required timeline.
     • Example: An owner thinks the condo corporation’s fees to provide the records are unreasonable.

2. Adequacy of Records
   • This includes disputes about whether records are being kept adequately.
     • Example: An owner knows that the records exist but believes they are incomplete, unclear, or not maintained as required under the Condo Act.

3. Entitlement to Records
   • This includes disputes about whether a requester is legally entitled to records they have requested.
     • Example: An owner requested records and the condo corporation refused to provide them.

4. Records Retention
   • This includes disputes about whether records are being kept for the required amount of time.
     • Example: An owner believes that records are not being kept for the required amount of time under the Condo Act.