Condominium Manager Magazine

Minute taking is part science and part art—anyone can take minutes, but taking good minutes is much harder than it looks. The Condominium Act identifies minutes as core records of the Corporation, but provides little guidance on what should be included in or excluded from the minutes.

You have just completed a major refurbishment project. You selected your Interior Designer and build partners, turned reserve fund allocations into a workable budget and scope, settled on a final design, and guided the project through resident communications, demolition, construction, deficiencies, and the final walkthrough. The building looks gorgeous, the community is proud to come home, and another major project needs your attention. Before moving on, close one final loop: put a preservation plan in place.

Decks are one lovely extension of a home. They offer a space with a completely different atmosphere from the rest of the house—open, airy, and connected to nature. Whether hosting a lively barbecue, enjoying the beauty of sunrises and sunsets, or simply relaxing while soaking up the afternoon sun, a deck becomes a backdrop for countless moments. Beyond lifestyle, decks also add measurable value to our property. Yet despite their appeal, they face constant exposure to the elements, and without proper care, their beauty and safety can deteriorate far more quickly than most homeowners expect.

Condominium managers are often seen as the steady force behind well-run communities. The calm presence that keeps everything moving. Yet that steadiness comes at a personal cost. The role demands constant attention, emotional control, and sound judgment, often under pressure and with little opportunity to pause. Over time, the quiet expectation to always be available, composed, and in control begins to weigh heavily.

Large domestic hot water tanks are easy to overlook when they are working properly. Hidden away in mechanical rooms, they quietly deliver an essential service every day with little attention from residents or building teams. Boilers are usually maintained as a matter of course, but large hot water holding tanks are often treated as background equipment until something goes wrong. That is a mistake many buildings only recognize once the cost becomes unavoidable.

If you’ve been in condominium management for any length of time, you’ve dealt with difficult owners. That part is unavoidable. Condos bring together strong personalities, big emotions, and people who care deeply about where they live and how their money is spent. But not every difficult owner is toxic.

There is a lot of attention today on mental health and the importance of taking care of ourselves in all aspects of our lives. I say – It’s about time! As a society, we have not been very good at being kind to ourselves. We’ve carried forward ideologies and work patterns from a different era, and even when we know they no longer serve us, our brains can have a hard time letting go.

 In a world of offering more for less, it is becoming increasingly common for condo developments to share facilities. These range from joint parking garages to heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, and even elevators and recreation centres. Frequently shared between two or more corporations and, in mixed-use sites, between residential and commercial entities, these allow facilities to offer residents better and improved amenities.

Infrastructure that is critical for the everyday operation of condominiums sometimes gets forgotten and overlooked because it’s hiding below the surface. Rainwater, sewage, and groundwater-related infrastructure must be properly managed in a well-functioning condominium. Regular maintenance and check-ups of these systems are required to comply with municipal codes and policies and to ensure the safe operation of a building. 

There are days when managing a condominium feels like trying to keep a dozen spinning plates in the air—on a rooftop, during a windstorm, while fielding emails about BBQ bookings and a leak on the 27th floor. And somehow, that’s not even the hard part anymore.

Ontario’s condominium sector is undergoing a quiet but profound shift in how health and safety are managed. For years, boards and property managers focused primarily on fire, life safety, building code compliance, sprinkler systems, emergency lighting, and evacuation procedures. However, recent inspections, court decisions, and actions by the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training, and Skills Development (MLITSD) have expanded the scope of responsibility under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) to encompass a broader range of responsibilities, including contractor due diligence, workplace violence, and harassment prevention.

Meeting compliance standards has long been a key aspect of the regulatory landscape in condominium communities. For condominium managers and corporations, these standards are nothing new, but what is often overlooked are the responsibilities of the trades operating within these communities. The Accessibility of Ontarians Disabilities Act (AODA) establishes clear guidelines that extend beyond building design, outlining how all service providers, including trades, have a duty to comply with these standards.

It has been about three years since that horrific day on December 18, 2022, when our nation’s worst case of mass shooting in a condo community occurred at the Bellaria Residences condominium tower in Vaughan. Five people, most of them condo board directors, were executed in cold blood. Years after the tragic shootings and the aftermath, I’ve spoken to directors and unit owners about their emotions and thoughts on the matter and without hesitation, they jointly expressed fear and anxiety regarding potential safety concerns in their condo community.

It was the kind of twist that makes condo managers sit up and take notice: “Who pressed record?” That unexpected question became central to the decision in Bogue v. Carleton Condominium Corporation No. 288, where Ontario’s Condominium Authority Tribunal (CAT) ruled that a virtual Annual General Meeting (AGM) recording made by a third-party platform, not the board, was not a corporate record.