Condominium Manager Magazine

In recent years, condominium boards and managers have been navigating rough waters when it comes to reserve fund planning. Whether calmer seas lie ahead or more storms are brewing remains uncertain.

Our world is changing, and with it, the challenges facing condominiums are evolving at an unprecedented pace. Stronger storms, hotter summers, and unpredictable weather is becoming the new normal. At the same time, there's a growing push for buildings to become more sustainable and energy efficient.

Editor’s note: Excellence in condominium management is built on a foundation of experience, insight, and continuous learning. In Ontario, the industry benefits from a strong network of seasoned professionals who are ready to share their expertise with the next generation of leaders. For managers seeking to build meaningful and sustainable careers, mentorship and guidance are well within reach—offering a valuable opportunity to learn from the past while shaping the future. For this article, we spoke with Catherine Murdock and Kristian Pasku of Del Property Management to gain two valuable perspectives: one from a seasoned industry veteran, and the other from a rising leader who recently took an exciting step forward in his career.

...multigenerational living in a condominium can also mean that we are seeing a variety of generations coming together under one larger roof and creating a real cross-section of society. This can present operational considerations and risks that need to be managed. Furthermore, it is important to always remember that the Human Rights Code of Ontario creates a clear standard of performance to ensure that people are able to live with dignity and have disabilities considered and accommodated.

Words like “crisis” and “critical” appear regularly in conversations about condos, sometimes so often that they start to lose meaning. Yet it’s fair to say that something is shifting in the way these communities are managed. Across Canada and in other parts of the world, recent legislative changes suggest a growing emphasis on structure, transparency, and planning. The focus is not about reinventing how boards operate but about reinforcing an approach that takes a longer view of the building’s (and community’s) future, and the collective responsibilities that come with shared ownership.

The condominium management industry in Ontario is facing a pivotal moment, one shaped by rapid growth in vertical communities, increased legislative complexity, evolving owner expectations, and a profound shortage of qualified condominium managers. As we look to the future, it's clear that adaptation, innovation, and mentorship will play crucial roles in sustaining the profession and meeting the sector’s rising demands.

AI has condominium communities talking. Some people feel apprehensive about the new technology, while others are excited about the possibilities. But everyone can agree that AI isn't going anywhere. Regardless of how you feel about it, it's important to understand the possibilities, best practices, and consequences of improper use...

As a property manager who has seen the condo world evolve from handwritten logs and bulletin boards to cloud-based systems and mobile apps, I can tell you this: technology is a game-changer—but only if we're ready to play smart and safe.

For much of the last 80 years, closed-circuit television systems were used to capture moments in time, allowing individuals to look back and review events after the fact. While there have been multiple advancements in video surveillance, condominiums have been slow to adopt them because of limited resources like time and money, lack of general awareness of new technologies, and hesitation to replace existing systems.

Managing communication in condominium communities is not always an easy task. From resident complaints to policy enforcement, managers often balance diplomacy, clarity, and time constraints—all while under significant pressure. Artificial Intelligence (AI) can help.

Condominium management is growing more complex, and traditional tools are no longer enough to meet today's operational, safety, and regulatory demands. From evolving fire code standards to rising expectations from boards and residents, managers are being asked to do more with fewer resources and tighter timelines. In addition, employees now expect automation in the workplace.

Property management companies are increasingly becoming prime targets for cybercrime, not because of the sensitive data they handle, but because their cyber defences are less sophisticated than those of larger organizations, making them easier to penetrate. Property management companies need to take proactive steps now to protect themselves, their team and their customers from becoming victims of cybercrime to minimize their risk exposure and protect themselves from the bait.

Maybe it isn’t a problem to be solved; maybe it’s a paradigm to be managed. A paradigm is a standard, or frame work, or a set of ideas. As I commuted to yet another meet ing, as we all do, I came across this quote in a podcast I was listening to featuring Brene Brown and Esther Perel (I adore each and recommend all of their content by the way). If I were reading a book, I would have dog-eared the corner or highlighted the phrase. This one sentence struck me as the key to better everything in Condoland.

Condominium living embodies a delicate balance between individual rights and collective harmony, a balance often tested when residents exhibit extreme behavior which might be linked to mental health factors. While empathy and accommodation are vital, recent Ontario case law underscores a stark reality: when actions threaten communal safety, legal intervention is not just warranted but imperative.