By-laws
Also see: By-laws, Borrowing; By-laws, Joint;
By-laws, Maintenance Standards; By-laws, Occupancy
Standards; By-laws, Standard Unit; About Condo memo on By-laws; Certificate in Respect of a By-law (on Ontario
Government website containing forms under the Condominium Act, 1998)
Short Answer
Part of the array of governing documents of a condominium, by-laws generally deal with matters of administrative relevance but may also be enacted to provide substantive information that further defines rights and obligations set out in the declaration or Condominium Act, 1998.
Definition
By-laws form part of the set of documents that govern a condominium corporation. Typically by-laws deal with issues relating to management and corporate governance, such as: qualifications for directors and their manner of election; compensation for directors; duties of officers; the assessment and collection of common expense contributions; borrowing money; licensing, leasing or granting easements over the common elements; establishing the standard unit definition(s) for the condominium; setting out occupancy standards; mediation procedures; and maintenance standards. Some types of by-law, or some situations in which by-laws are mandatory, are discussed in more detail under separate headings inCondopædia because of their special or unique nature.
By-laws must be reasonable, consistent with the declaration and the Condominium Act, 1998, (the "Act"), and must be enacted in the manner set out in the Act in order to effective and enforceable.
By-laws must be reasonable, consistent with the declaration and the Condominium Act, 1998, (the "Act"), and must be enacted in the manner set out in the Act in order to effective and enforceable.
What you need to know…
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…as a Unit Owner
The important position that by-laws have in the hierarchy of condominium governing documents is suggested by the relatively high standard that the Act imposes on approval of proposed by-laws and by-law amendments: that is, in order for a condominium by-law to come into effect, one vital step is that the owners of a majority of the units must vote in favour of the proposal. It is important, then, that when a by-law or amendment is proposed, unit owners read the draft by-law and any other materials that might be provided by the board, attend and participate in the meeting of owners dealing with the by-law, and make an informed vote. Unit owners have an obligation to comply with the by-laws as well as with the Act, declaration and rules. Although much that is in the by-laws may deal with matters that impact board conduct and decision making, many provisions may impact more directly on the rights and obligations of unit owners. It is therefore very important for owners to know what is in their condominium's by-laws. |
…as a Board Member or Manager
It is essential that the by-laws be created, approved, and enacted in accordance with the Act. Other than in regard to by-laws proposed by the declarant (see comments below), it is the responsibility of the board of directors to consider and approve by-laws to be proposed to the unit owners. This must be done by resolution at a duly called meeting of the board. Usually, legal counsel is sought to draft the by-law, or at least to help the board ensure that the by-law is accurate and complies with applicable laws. Unit owners are then given the opportunity to review and vote on the by-law at a meeting of owners called for that purpose. The meeting can be called for other purposes as well, but what this requirement means is that the vote on the proposed by-law must be set out in the agenda for the meeting and both the agenda and a copy of the proposed by-law must be included with the notice of meeting. Changes to the by-law can be made at the meeting. The by-law (as amended at the meeting) is passed if approved by the owners of a majority of the units. Note: this does not mean a majority of owners, nor a majority of owners at the meeting. It means, a majority (i.e., 50% + 1) of units. However, even if approved by the owners, the by-law is not yet in force or effect. Once the by-law has been approved by the unit owners, the directors are to execute a form (previously known as Form 11 under Ontario Regulation 48/01) certifying that all requirements of the Act were complied with in respect of the making of the by-law. This is delivered to legal counsel along with the approved form of the by-law for registration. The by-law come into force and effect once it is properly registered against title to all the units and not a moment before then. |
…as a Declarant
When creating a condominium corporation, the declarant is responsible for the creation of a declaration - the primary governing document after the Act - and may also put in place other governing documents: namely, agreements, rules and by-laws. It is advisable that the declarant at the very least create a general governance by-law (containing provisions dealing with such matters as the qualifications, number and terms of directors, duties of the officers, meetings, proxies, and other such matters), a general borrowing by-law and a by-law setting out the standard unit definition(s). These may all be combined into a single by-law. Without doing this, the declarant would be leaving the condominium corporation ill-equipped, if not entirely incapable in certain cases, to handle many of its responsibilities. The declarant's proposed by-laws (i.e., those made for the condominium prior to its registration) must form part of the disclosure package given to purchasers of units, and come into force and effect as soon as the declaration and description creating the condominium are registered. However, even though the declarant's proposed by-laws are effective without requiring any other process, it is responsible and beneficial for the condominium corporation, its unit owners and mortgages, if the declarant causes the corporation, through the declarant-appointed board of directors, to register the declarant's proposed by-laws on title. |