Condominium Manager Magazine

Condo managers know this truth – some owners can be professional complainers and are the most frequent visitors to the management office. Should you lock the door and close the blinds? The CMRAO lists “responding to owner complaints” as a typical example of a condominium manager’s responsibilities. As a manager, you would not want an unresolved complaint or unaddressed owner inquiry to be escalated as an ethics violation to ACMO or the CMRAO complaint process.

A condominium corporation is required by law to communicate with its owners about certain matters. While it is easy to see prescribed communications as a ‘box-checking’ exercise, we would encourage managers and boards to view them as an opportunity to communicate with and educate their owners and, in some cases, to advance the condominium’s legal interests.

How do we Make Meetings More Focused and Productive? We must understand that the meeting doesn’t just occur during the actual meeting time slot – it’s an entire process called the Meeting Cycle, and each part requires attention and participation.

Essential skills for effective communication require email etiquette, understanding client preferences and adapting out of our comfort zone to accommodate communication requirements for our clients.

Whether the issue is resident safety, unsightly garbage, common element deficiencies, or a chargeback, managers are regularly caught in heated conversations with irate owners and residents. Although de-escalating conflict is a hallmark of a great property manager, some property managers can struggle to communicate disagreements or differences without heightening tension. 

The classic comparison of a silk glove vs. an iron gauntlet regarding communication techniques is paramount in condominium management communication. Most people are generous and patient. However, out of the hundreds of owners and tenants that property managers deal with, there may be a few who will use every potential matter to criticize.

To ensure your communications are managed in a timely manner, you must be efficient and organized. Yet, many fail to utilize the available tools to help us manage our daily responsibilities and communications. Let’s review some best practices for organizing, planning, prioritizing and efficiently managing your daily duties so you can communicate effectively.

This article will offer strategies to avoid hot water by staying cool and address why soft skills are becoming increasingly crucial in Condoland.

Effective communication is a critical component of every condominium’s success. It is essential to keep the community informed and engaged. It helps managers and boards make more impactful decisions, making the community run more efficiently.

New research from Forbes Inc. suggests that more than half (56%) of business owners surveyed in 2021 said the most popular way for their customers to contact them was by telephone, with call volumes increasing by 16% since 2019. Notwithstanding advancements in digital customer service communication, this suggests that people want the reassurance of a human voice at the other end of the line.

On June 2, 2022, the so-called “Right to Disconnect” law came into effect in Ontario. It was introduced as part of the Working for Workers Act, 2021, omnibus legislation focused on improving working conditions for workers. The “right to disconnect” provisions were aimed at enhancing work-life balance. But here’s the rub – the legislation does not actually provide a right to disengage from work-related communications in any workplace environment, including in condominiums.

Recently, on July 1, 2022, the laws in Ontario changed. A new Bill 88 – Working for Workers Act, 2022 – was introduced. Schedule 4 deals with significant changes to the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

Competition Bureau laid criminal conspiracy and fraud charges against three GTA refurbishment contractors and their owners. A fourth firm was charged with conspiracy offences under the Competition Act. The Bureau alleged that the accused parties conspired to commit fraud and rig bids for refurbishment contracts with GTA condominium corporations between 2009 and 2014. 

Which came first; good governance or the legal battle? Answer – most likely the legal battle since good governance will typically minimize or eliminate the legal action altogether.

In a recent decision, the Superior Court of Justice examined the serious repercussions that condominium corporations may face if they fail to respond and adequately address common element deficiency and noise-related complaints from unit owners in a timely manner which, in this case, went on for between 10 and 11 years.