Administrative Authority
Also see: Management
Short Answer
A not-for-profit corporation without share capital, to be designated by the Lieutenant Governor in Council to administer the Condominium Management Services Act, 2015, if and when it comes into force.
Definition
An administrative authority is to be established by the Lieutenant Governor in Council following the coming into force of Schedule 2 of the Protecting Condominium Owners Act, 2015, which creates the Condominium Management Services Act, 2015. (See Part 3 of our Reading Guide to Bill 106 for discussion of the coming into force of this legislation, here.) More details about this authority and the specifics of manager licensing will be provided later, either in this or other Condopædia entries. In the meantime, the following introductory comments were set out in Blog Entry #5, "An Array of New Authorities," in the Bill 106 Blog published by Clifton Kok LLP. The full entry, which also discusses the Condominium Authority, Condominium Authority Tribunal and Condominium Registrar, can be read here.
Schedule 2 of Bill 106, when in force, becomes the Condominium Management Services Act, 2015 (the “CMSA”).
Under the CMSA, the government - or, more precisely, the "Lieutenant Governor in Council," which essentially means the Lieutenant Governor of the province on the advice of the Cabinet - will establish a not-for-profit corporation (that isnot a crown corporation or crown agent, but remains accountable to the government for all its activities) as the “administrative authority” to oversee the licensing of persons wishing to act as condominium managers in Ontario. This administrative authority is not to engage in its own commercial activities and may be replaced by direct government control if necessary to ensure the intent of the CMSA is carried out.
A board of directors of the administrative authority will be appointed by the government. That board, in its turn, is empowered to appoint a Director and Deputy Directors, a Registrar and Inspectors, and both a Discipline Committee and an Appeals Committee.
As such titles ultimately suggest, the authority will have power not only to license and track the licensing of condominium managers, but will also be able to perform inspections to determine their compliance or non-compliance with the CMSA, and to receive, investigate and act on complaints, including through formal disciplinary procedures.
Disciplinary action may include sending a warning letter to the offending manager, requiring him or her to take certain educational courses, or even revocation of the manager’s license (which is, in effect, prohibiting him or her from being employed as a condominium manager in Ontario). Decisions of the Discipline Committee and the Appeals Committee will be made available to the public.
What you need to know…
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…as a Unit Owner
Unit owners should take some comfort and confidence from the fact that in order to manage a condominium corporation, a person or company must be qualified to receive a license under this proposed legislation. The idea is that this will help to ensure a higher standard of management skill, knowledge, competence and honesty, better protecting unit owner interests and assets. See further comments pertaining to self-management under the next heading ("...as a Board Member"). More details regarding condominium manager licensing and the administrative authority will be added to this or other Condopædia entries as information about these is further disclosed and analysed. |
…as a Board Member
Board members will need to become familiar with the means of identifying genuine licensing and should not at any time retain the services of any person to perform any condominium management services (as defined in the legislation) who is not properly licensed. Further, board members should be familiar with the standards for licensed management and the procedures of the administrative authority for making complaints and resolving disputes about managers and management services. Since a board's first duty is to the well-being of the condominium corporation, the board should not be hesitant to use the tools provided by the administrative authority to compel the condominium corporation's manager to meet all applicable service standards. Note that it is possible under the proposed legislation that self-management of a condominium corporation would not be permitted. This is because the default rule of the legislation is that no person is entitled to provide condominium management serviceswithout being licensed. However, section 35 of the proposed new Condominium Management Services Act, 2015 also provides that the government may enact legislations that will exempt certain persons from requiring licensing to manage a condominium property. It may be presumed that qualified, elected directors of a corporation could be so exempted, although the specific details and conditions of such are not known as this time. More details regarding condominium manager licensing and the administrative authority will be added to this or other Condopædia entries as information about these is further disclosed and analysed. |
…as a Manager
Persons purporting to provide condominium management services must be prepared to meet all of the qualifications and criteria pertaining to licensing, and obtain and maintain a license in good standing from the administrative authority. More details regarding condominium manager licensing and the administrative authority will be added to this or other Condopædia entries as information about these is further disclosed and analysed. |
…as a Declarant
As declarants sometimes seek to put managers in place at the time a condominium corporation is created, they should ensure that such persons are properly qualified and licensed. If the declarant wishes to employ a person for this purpose, he or she will also need to be properly licensed unless an exemption for this is granted under the regulations to be made under the proposed Condominium Management Services Act, 2015 . It is not anticipated that such an exception should be made. Declarants also sometimes rely on experienced condominum managers to consult or assist in setting initial budgets for proposed condominium corporations, or in respect of other related matters. Even though such consultant might not be providing condominium management services as defined in the new legislation, it will generally be advisable to retain the services of a person who is duly qualified as a licensed condominium property manager to help ensure the advice or assistance given meets the standards of that profession. More details regarding condominium manager licensing and the administrative authority will be added to this or other Condopædia entries as information about these is further disclosed and analysed. |