CONDO LEGISLATION

    The number of condominiums in Ontario continues to increase rapidly, and the Condominium Act of 1998 is considered outdated.

   A private member’s bill, Bill 79, the Condominium Owners Protection Act is now slowly winding its way through interminable readings at Queen’s Park, but it will likely take a few years before coming into force.

   Read below what the new Act proposes to do (and you’ll get an idea of what the current legislation doesn’t do for condo owners):

  • close the loophole that allows condo boards to proceed with costly alterations to common elements without condo owners' approval.
  • Expand the protections offered to condo owners, including extending the new home warranty to include conversion condos (not currently covered by Tarion).
  • Charge Tarion to take on a consumer protection agency role for condo owners.
  • Create a Condominium Review Board to advise the public about condo issues as well as mediate or arbitrate disputes.
  • Remove barriers that prohibit boards from using reserve funds for "green" improvements such as retrofits and solar water heating

    Trinity Spadina MPP Rosario Marchese, who sponsored Bill 79, also believes that the Tarion Warranty Corporation, which provides new home warranties is not doing enough to assist consumers and he'd like the board more weighted in favor of nominees with a background in consumer advocacy.