1. Understand Your Rights and Obligations

You can learn more about what the Condo Act says and the role of your condo corporation’s governing documents by visiting Step #2 – Legal Considerations. Once you have reviewed this information, proceed to #2 below.

If your condo corporation does not have set up any requirements about short-term rentals (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.

2. Contact your Condo Board

If you believe that there is a short-term rental issue in the condo and/or another unit is being rented out for short-term rentals, despite being prohibited by the condo’s governing documents, you may want to speak to your condo board (and with your condo manager, if your condo corporation has one).

If you do not feel comfortable speaking to the condo board 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 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 better understand the issue(s) and what’s causing the problem. It may be helpful to keep track of:

• Identify the type of issue(s) you have noticed (e.g., which requirements found of the governing documents have not been complied with, etc.)
• The date(s) and time(s) you noticed the issue
• Identify which unit(s) you believe are being used for short-term rentals and are causing the issue

As noted above, if your condo corporation’s governing documents deal with any of the issues you are experiencing, your condo corporation has a legal obligation to ensure that everyone complies with them.

Note: due to the nature of short-term rentals, it may be difficult to contact the owner of a unit being used for short-term rentals, as they may not live in the unit. However, you may still may wish to consider contacting the owner by mail. An easy way for you to do this is to mail any letters to the owner’s address of service listed in the corporation’s record of owners and mortgagees (i.e., the record the corporation is legally required to keep under section 46.1 of the Condo Act).

Don’t have a copy of the record of owners and mortgagees?

If your issue isn’t resolved within a reasonable time after contacting your condo corporation, proceed to #3 below.

3. Follow up in writing

After you’ve contacted your condo board / manager (and potentially the owner), they will hopefully take steps to address and resolve the issue.

If you’ve given them a reasonable opportunity to resolve 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 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.

Have a Question?

1. Understanding your rights and obligations

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. Once you have reviewed this information, proceed to #2 below.

If your condo corporation does not have any requirements on short-term rentals (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.

2. Determine why you’ve been contacted about this issue

Another owner and/ or the condo corporation may contact you if they have reason to believe that the occupants in the short-term rental are in violation of the governing documents or that you are not permitted to rent out your unit as a short-term rental.

They may request that you take immediate steps to rectify the issue.

If your condo corporation has a provision in its governing documents you (or the occupants) have not complied with, then your condo corporation can take steps to enforce compliance. These steps may include sending a letter prepared by the condo corporation’s legal counsel. Your condo corporation may attempt to charge you for any costs that it incurs in repairing damage caused by the occupants. Your condo corporation may also attempt to charge you for any costs that it incurs in attempting to have you comply with the condo corporation’s governing documents.

If you do not know why you have been contacted, you may want to ask the condo board (the condo manager, if your condo corporation has one). You should also consult your condo corporation’s governing documents if they contain any provisions regarding short-term rentals.

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

The declaration, by-laws, and rules are important documents that govern the operation of the condo corporation. Click here for an overview of Governing Documents: Declaration, By-laws, and Rules.

3. Determine what to do next

Once you understand why you have been contacted, you need to determine what to do next:

• If you have determined that the occupant(s) has been causing an issue(s) in the condo, you may want to contact them immediately to address the issue(s). You may also want to re-inforce and/ or change how you inform new occupants about the requirements of renting a condo.
• If you have learned that you are not complying with your condo corporation’s governing documents, you may either comply with these requirements or you may want to consider trying to have them changed. For more information on governing documents and the process for amending them, please visit our Declaration, By-laws, and Rules.
• Contact your municipality to learn about any existing short-term rental by-laws or requirements and ensure that you are following them. If you are not, you may be liable to pay fines or penalties.
• If you are unsure of how to proceed, you may also wish to get assistance from a legal professional.

As noted above, if you do not adequately respond to these issues or comply with the condo corporations governing documents, your condo corporation may take steps to enforce compliance, and there may be financial or other consequences.

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

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.

Have a Question?