CAO Condo Owners’ Guide

Condominium ownership comes with benefits and things you should be aware of. You have both rights and responsibilities as a member of a condo community. You may be faced with common condo living issues and should make attempts to solve them collaboratively. You should also be aware of how your board works and how you can be involved.

This resource provides condo unit owners with important information about how they can understand their investments and contribute to their community.

This part of the guide introduces condo living basics, including your rights and responsibilities as an owner. It includes information covering:

• What is a condo?
• Common elements
• Condo living expectations
• Owners’ community rights
• Owners’ information rights
• Owners’ responsibilities
• Owners’ legal duties

Owners elect boards who run the corporation on their behalf. That’s why is important to understand how boards work and how owners can get involved. This part of the guide covers:

• Board duties
• Governing documents of the corporation
• Condo policies

Owners pay condo fees and should review the financial health of their corporation. This section covers important documents that owners should review to do that and more. You will find information on:

• Common expenses
• Special assessments
• Reserve funds
• Getting involved

Annual general meetings are great opportunities to discuss important condo business. This section covers:

• What are AGMs?
• AGM essentials
• Preparing for an AGM

Are you looking to repair or renovate your unit? This section will help you understand what you will be responsible for and what you need to work with your corporation on.

• Board and owner responsibilities
• What can owners change or repair?
• Best practices
• Insurance and deductibles

Condo owners should always try to resolve disputes collaboratively by using the CAO’s steps to solve common issues. When that does not work, owners can try escalating their issue to the Tribunal, so long as the issue is within the Tribunal’s jurisdiction.

• Solving common issues
• Condominium Authority Tribunal
• Tribunal Process
• Legal resources for owners

This section covers useful checklists.

• New owner’s checklist
• Emergency checklist