Condominium Management

Condominium corporations, in many aspects, are like business corporations.

In the business world, shareholders are the actual owners of a business corporation. They, according to some predefined rules and procedures, elect or appoint someone (or some people) to the Board of Directors of that corporation. A director on the Board of Directors has a fiduciary duty to look after the interests of the people who “send” (i.e., elect or appoint) him/her to the Board of Directors.

The Directors usually do not involve themselves in the day-to-day management of the corporation. They are in a supervisory role, or an over-seeing capacity. They establish and approve directions and general policies. They answer to the shareholders.

For day-to-day management of the corporation, they appoint, or approve the appointment of the head of the corporation: the President. They may also approve the appointment of other key officers of the corporation such as the Secretary, the Treasurer, and/or some senior vice-presidents (VPs).

Some corporations use different names, e.g., Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for President, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for Treasurer, Chief Operating Officer (COO) for VP of Operations, Chief Information Officer (CIO) for VP of Information and Technology.

These officers of the corporation are involved in the day-to-day management of the corporation. They hire managers and staff to perform daily operations, such as processing an order, ordering supplies, etc.

Condominium corporations are usually structured in a similar way, even though the Condominium Act mandates the top two levels of corporate structure: the Board of Directors and the officers of the corporation.

Members of the Board of Directors in a condominium corporation are generally elected by the condo’s unit owners at the Annual General Meeting (AGM), but they can be appointed under certain specific circumstances.

The next level of management are the officers of the condominium corporation. The Condominium Act 1998 says that a condominium corporation has to have a President and a Secretary [1]. A condo’s By-laws may allow for other positions such as Treasurer, Vice-President(s), and other positions.

The Act also says [2] that the President of a condo Corporation has to be elected among the directors themselves, so that means the President must also be a director. All the other positions, including the Secretary, may be elected or appointed. Most commonly, the members of the Board of Directors will wear two hats and play double-role; they also take up a position as an officer of the condo corporation.

Similar to that of a business corporation, a condo’s Board of Directors manages the condo affairs from a macroscopic perspective, while the condo’s officers manage the day-to-day operations. The hands-on execution of daily tasks are usually carried out by a property manager.

A condo can hire a property manager as its employee, or contract out the service to a property management company. The Condominium Act 1998 does not stipulate in this respect.

Most new condos have over 100 units (if not hundreds of units), so it’s economical to contract out the property management service. However, in some smaller (older) condos that have only a handful (say, 30 or so) of units, it would be very, very costly to contract out the tasks to a property management company, or even hire a property manager. So, members of the Board of Directors usually just share the workload and take on the daily tasks hands-on themselves.

The three Corporations of the Grandview Way residential complex have contracted out property management function to DEL Property Management Inc.

[Note 1] Condominium Act 1998 Section 36, subsection (1):
A corporation shall have a president and a secretary and all other officers that are provided for by by-law or by resolution of the directors.

[Note 2] Condominium Act 1998, Section 36, subsection (2):
Subject to the by-laws, the directors,
(a) shall elect the president from among themselves;
(b) shall appoint or elect the secretary; and
(c) may appoint or elect one or more vice-presidents or other officers.

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