Owners’ Meetings
Owner-requisitioned meetings
Condo owners can request that the board call a meeting to discuss or vote on a particular topic. These meetings are called owner-requisitioned meetings and are open to all owners.
Purpose of owner-requisitioned meetings
Owners can request that the board calls a meeting to discuss topics important to owners, who may also be able to vote, depending on the topic. Here are some topics that are frequently raised at owner-requisitioned meetings:
- Voting on the removal and replacement of a director
- Voting on a proposed rule
- Discussion of an emerging issue, such as behaviour of owners, residents or guests
Owners are generally unable to overturn a board decision at an owner-requisitioned meeting. Still, owner-requisitioned meetings can give owners an opportunity to voice concerns or present ideas. Non-binding vote of owners in attendance can be held to make sure that the condo corporation understands the owners’ position.
How can owners requisition meetings?
Any unit owner in a condo corporation can request a meeting. A requisition must describe the purpose of the meeting and must be signed by owners of at least 15 per cent of the voting units in the corporation and delivered to the board.
Owners who have lost the ability to vote are not able to request meetings and cannot be counted in the required 15 per cent of voting units.
Step 1: Prepare your requisition
Your requisition must:
Any requisition aimed at removing directors must include the names of the directors, reasons for their proposed removal and whether they hold a board position that can be changed only by votes from owner-occupied units.
Step 2: Get signatures
You must get signatures from owners representing at least 15 per cent of the voting units in the corporation, even if they do not live in the building.
You can get the owners’ contact information by requesting the record of owners and mortgagees from the condo corporation. This record however does not indicate if owners have not paid their condo fees, which would make them ineligible to vote until they catch up on payments.
Electronic signatures may be used if they meet the requirements of the Electronic Commerce Act.
Owners should consult their declaration, by-laws, and rules for any restrictions or prohibitions on soliciting signatures by going door-to-door.
Step 3: Deliver the requisition
Owners must deliver the requisition in-person or by registered mail to the corporation’s president or secretary or deliver it in-person to the corporation’s address for service
How boards must respond
Boards must:
- Add the topics included in the requisition to the agenda for the next AGM, if requested, or call and hold a meeting of owners within 35 days.
- Send a preliminary notice of meeting to all unit owners within five days of receiving the requisition.
- Send a notice of meeting to all owners at least 15 days before the meeting day. The notice must contain:
- The location (if in-person), date, and time of the meeting
- The business to be presented at the meeting
- The instructions for attending by phone or virtually, if applicable
- A copy of the requisition
- A copy of all proposed changes to the declaration, by-laws, rules or agreements to be discussed at the meeting, if the requisition is for one of these topics.
- Hold the meeting of owners on or before 35 days after receiving the requisition.
- Prepare the meeting minutes after the meeting.
FAQ
Are there different quorum requirements for different types of votes?
There are different thresholds of owners required to vote for different topics, such as:
- If the meeting is to vote on proposed rules, a simple majority of the owners in attendance is required.
- If the meeting is to remove a director, then the owners of more than 50 per cent of the voting units in the corporation must vote in favour of removal.
- In some circumstances, the Act deems positions in the board as reserved for only owner-occupied units to vote directors in or out of. The requisition must outline if the board director is sitting in one of these positions so the board can prepare to have only owner-occupied units vote on the decision. Check out section 51 (6) for more information. A majority of owner-occupied units must vote in favour of the removal in this scenario.
Contact us if you have a question about quorum not covered here.
What happens if boards do not respond?
Owners can call the meeting themselves, hold it within 45 days and request that the board reimburse them for all reasonable costs for calling a meeting.
What happens if boards lose quorum at a meeting called to remove a board director?
Remaining directors must call and hold another owners’ meeting to fill all vacancies within 30 days. Owners can avoid this by electing a replacement in the same meeting.
An owner can call this additional meeting if the directors do not or if there are no directors left. The condo corporation must then reimburse the owner who called the meeting for all reasonable costs. The owner must request to be reimbursed for this to take place.
Can owners requisition a meeting to vote against a board decision?
Owners can request an owners’ meeting to vote on certain board decisions such as rule changes, alterations to common elements and whether the condo corporation should be terminated after substantial damage. Votes on other issues are usually non-binding.