Joint By-laws & Rules
Short Answer
A by-law or rule enacted by two or more condominium corporations to govern the use and maintenance of shared facilities and services.
Definition
Section 59 of the Condominium Act, 1998, (the "Act") permits two or more condominium corporations that have shared facilities and services to make, amend or repeal joint by-laws or rules governing their use and maintenance. There is no authority to enact joint by-laws or rules for any other purposes.
The joint by-laws and rules are considered by-laws and rules of each participating condominium corporation respectively, and therefore can be enforced by each one in respect of its own owners and residents. However, one participating condominium corporation cannot repeal or amend joint by-laws and rules independent of the other participating condominium corporation(s).
Approval and Repeal of Joint By-laws
A joint by-law must be approved by the majority of owners of the units of each corporation in order to come into effect. It must also be registered against title to each unit in each corporation. It remains in effect until repealed, which occurs only once the owners of a majority of the units in each corporation vote in favour of repeal and the repealing by-law is registered against title to each unit in each corporation.
Approval, Amendment and Repeal of Joint Rules
A joint rule is enacted in a manner similar to a regular rule of a condominium corporation, by notice to the owners of each corporation of the proposed joint rule, including in the notice a copy of the rule, a statement as to the date on which the boards (collectively) propose it is to come into force (which cannot be a date less than 30 days after the date on which the notice is given to the owners), and a statement as to the owners' rights under section 46 of the Act to requisition a meeting. (See the Condopædia articles on Rules and on Requisitioned Meetings.)
A meeting to approve the joint rule is not required unless a valid requisition is received by at least one of the participating condominiums within 30 days after the notice is given, or in the event that the proposed new or amended joint rule has substantially the same purpose or effect as a joint rule that the owners had already amended or repealed within the preceding two years. If either such condition is met, then the rule cannot come into effect until the owners of each corporation have voted in favour of it.
With respect to requisitions, note that this means that although only one corporation might receive a requisition, all of the participating condominium corporations must hold a vote.
If no meeting is required, the joint rule comes into effect on the date set out in the notice.
Amendment or repeal of a joint rule must be approved by a vote of the unit owners of each corporation. A simple majority of the owners of each corporation present (in person or by proxy) at the meeting where the proposed joint rule is presented is sufficient, pursuant to section 53 of the Act.
The meeting(s) where either a joint by-law or joint rule is presented for either enactment, amendment or repeal, may, but need not, be a joint meeting of all the participating condominium corporations.
The joint by-laws and rules are considered by-laws and rules of each participating condominium corporation respectively, and therefore can be enforced by each one in respect of its own owners and residents. However, one participating condominium corporation cannot repeal or amend joint by-laws and rules independent of the other participating condominium corporation(s).
Approval and Repeal of Joint By-laws
A joint by-law must be approved by the majority of owners of the units of each corporation in order to come into effect. It must also be registered against title to each unit in each corporation. It remains in effect until repealed, which occurs only once the owners of a majority of the units in each corporation vote in favour of repeal and the repealing by-law is registered against title to each unit in each corporation.
Approval, Amendment and Repeal of Joint Rules
A joint rule is enacted in a manner similar to a regular rule of a condominium corporation, by notice to the owners of each corporation of the proposed joint rule, including in the notice a copy of the rule, a statement as to the date on which the boards (collectively) propose it is to come into force (which cannot be a date less than 30 days after the date on which the notice is given to the owners), and a statement as to the owners' rights under section 46 of the Act to requisition a meeting. (See the Condopædia articles on Rules and on Requisitioned Meetings.)
A meeting to approve the joint rule is not required unless a valid requisition is received by at least one of the participating condominiums within 30 days after the notice is given, or in the event that the proposed new or amended joint rule has substantially the same purpose or effect as a joint rule that the owners had already amended or repealed within the preceding two years. If either such condition is met, then the rule cannot come into effect until the owners of each corporation have voted in favour of it.
With respect to requisitions, note that this means that although only one corporation might receive a requisition, all of the participating condominium corporations must hold a vote.
If no meeting is required, the joint rule comes into effect on the date set out in the notice.
Amendment or repeal of a joint rule must be approved by a vote of the unit owners of each corporation. A simple majority of the owners of each corporation present (in person or by proxy) at the meeting where the proposed joint rule is presented is sufficient, pursuant to section 53 of the Act.
The meeting(s) where either a joint by-law or joint rule is presented for either enactment, amendment or repeal, may, but need not, be a joint meeting of all the participating condominium corporations.
Please note that when the Protecting Condominium Owners Act, 2015 comes into force, section 59 of the Act will be repealed and replaced with new provisions in the regulations made under that Act, the details of which have not yet been disclosed by the legislature. Until such are enacted, section 59 remains in force and can be relied upon.
What you need to know…
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…as a Unit Owner
A unit owner's obligation to comply with the condominium's by-laws and rules also extends to joint by-laws and joint rules without difference or exception. |
…as a Board Member or Manager
It is important to note that the requirements for unit owner approval of a joint by-law are different than for other by-laws of the corporation. As noted in the Condopædia article, By-laws, "The by-law ...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." This is based on the wording of subsection 56(10) of the Act, which sets out the criteria for a condominium by-law to come into effect. However, subsection 59(3) of the Act, which sets out the criteria for effectiveness of a joint by-law states that the requirement is not approval by "the owners of a majority of the units" but by "the majority of the owners of the units". This difference means that, with respect to enacting joint by-laws, a determination of an approving vote should consider the actual number there are of owners of all units and ensure a majority of them have approved the by-law. This is, of course, not easy, and seems to run contrary to the principle of one vote per unit. It might be just a drafting error by whatever legislative committee prepared this section. However, regardless of that, condominium corporation boards and managers must try to give effect to the law as written and should count the actual number of owners casting affirmative votes in order to determine whether a joint by-law is approved. Note that the procedure switches again in subsection 59(5), which provides that when repealing a joint by-law "the owners of a majority of the units" must vote in favour of doing so. Before seeking to enact either joint by-laws or rules, each corporation should ensure that the proposed by-laws or rules are consistent with the corporation's declaration. Also, if there is a Shared Facilities, Mutual Use and/or Cost Sharing Agreement in place, its terms must be considered. |
…as a Declarant
Declarants will not typically be in a position to enact joint by-laws or joint rules. The only situation in which it could be done by a declarant without requiring the willing cooperation of unit owners and their elected boards is prior to turnover while the declarant still retains control (i.e., still owns a majority of units) of all of the condominiums that have the use of the shared facilities or services in question. While conceivable, this situation is likely to be very rare. |