CMRAO-Compliant Condo Management: What Ontario Boards Should Expect
(From a Condominium Management Expert)
Practical Guidance for Smarter Governance in London & Sarnia, Ontario
If your condominium corporation already has a management company, you probably assume the person signing your cheques and running your meetings is properly licensed and held to a real professional standard. In Ontario that is a legal requirement, not a courtesy, and the quiet gap between holding a license and genuinely meeting the standard is where many London and Sarnia boards lose ground without realizing it.
CMRAO-compliant condo management is the floor, not the ceiling. This article explains what Ontario law actually requires of your manager, how to confirm your current company meets it, and how to tell the difference between a firm that simply holds a license and one that treats that standard as a starting point. By the end, you will know exactly what to check and what to ask.
Why CMRAO Licensing Exists and Why It Protects Your Board
Since 2017, Ontario has required every person and business that provides condominium management services to hold a license from the Condominium Management Regulatory Authority of Ontario (CMRAO). The requirement flows from the Condominium Management Services Act, 2015 and its General Regulation. Before this framework existed, anyone could call themselves a condo manager regardless of training, experience, or track record.
Today the CMRAO maintains a public register of every licensed manager and management provider, handles complaints, investigates Code of Ethics violations, and runs discipline hearings. For your board, that means two practical things: a CMRAO licensed condo manager is the legal minimum, and you have a regulator to turn to if something goes seriously wrong. A condo management company in Ontario that cannot readily point you to its current license status is showing you a problem, not a technicality.
This is not legal advice, but generally speaking under Ontario law, a corporation that pays an unlicensed provider for management services is exposed in ways no board should accept. Confirming the license is current is the single easiest piece of due diligence you can do.
General vs Limited License: Who Is Actually Managing Your Building
Not every person called a "manager" carries the same authority. The CMRAO issues two individual licenses, and the difference decides who can actually make binding decisions about your building and your money.
• General License: held by managers with at least two years of supervised experience who have completed the CMRAO Condominium Management Certificate Program. They can manage independently, sign contracts, and authorize expenditures on your behalf.
• Limited License: held by managers newer to the field, with under two years of experience. They must work under the supervision of a General Licensee, cannot enter, renew, or terminate a contract on your behalf without their supervisor's approval, and cannot authorize spending over $500 outside the reserve fund without sign-off.
• Effective October 1, 2025, new General License applicants must complete two full calendar years of supervised work experience before they qualify.
• The management provider business itself must hold a separate Condominium Management Provider License and carry both errors and omissions insurance and fidelity insurance.
If a Limited Licensee is your day-to-day contact, that is not automatically a concern, but your board should know who supervises them and who holds final authority. A common gap we see among London Ontario boards is a building handed to a junior, Limited-licensed manager with thin senior oversight, even though the contract was won on the strength of the company's most experienced people.
What the CMRAO Code of Ethics Requires Your Manager to Do
Licensing is only half the story. Every CMRAO licensee is bound by a Code of Ethics set out in regulation, and it defines the conduct your board is entitled to expect. Among other obligations, your manager must treat owners and directors fairly, honestly, and with integrity; provide reliable and responsive service while demonstrating knowledge, skill, and competence; avoid discrimination and harassment and provide reasonable accommodation for people with disabilities; refuse gifts that a reasonable person might believe could influence their decisions; and not interfere with owners' reasonable use of the common elements.
Read plainly, the Code is a service standard with legal weight. "Reliable and responsive" is not a nice-to-have; it is a regulatory obligation. If your current manager routinely lets emails sit for a week, misses statutory deadlines, or cannot clearly explain a recommendation, those are not just service frustrations. They may point to a deeper compliance gap worth addressing.
How to Confirm Your Current Manager Is Compliant and Spot the Gaps
You do not need to take any of this on faith. A few minutes of checking tells you whether your current company is meeting the standard you are paying for.
• Search the CMRAO public register (cmrao.ca) for both your individual manager and the management provider business, and confirm both licenses are current and in good standing.
• Ask which license class your day-to-day manager holds, and if it is a Limited License, ask who supervises them.
• Confirm the provider carries errors and omissions insurance and fidelity insurance, as the regulation requires.
• Ask how your manager meets the annual continuing education requirement (General Licensees need a minimum of ten continuing professional education credits each year to renew their license).
• Request evidence that statutory notices, meetings, and records are handled in line with the Condominium Act, 1998 and the Condominium Management Services Act, 2015.
If your company hesitates on any of these, that hesitation is itself information. Measuring what you actually receive against the standard is one of the most useful exercises a board can do.
Beyond the Minimum: What Good CMRAO-Compliant Management Looks Like
Compliance is the floor. The companies worth keeping treat the CMRAO standard as a baseline and build well past it: transparent monthly financial reporting a director can actually read, proactive reserve and maintenance planning rather than reactive scrambling, plain-language explanations behind every recommendation, and same-week responsiveness as a habit rather than an exception. At Sapphire, we find that boards who hold their current service up against this higher bar tend to spot the gaps quickly.
If you want an objective starting point, a clear-eyed look at your numbers usually tells the story. Boards across London and Sarnia Ontario can request a free financial review on us at , and use it as a second opinion on whether your current condo corp management is delivering what you pay for. Strong condo management in London Ontario and condo management in Sarnia Ontario should always be easy to verify and easy to understand.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How do I check if my condo manager is licensed in Ontario?
A: Search the CMRAO public register at cmrao.ca for both the individual manager and the management provider business. Both must hold current licenses under the Condominium Management Services Act, 2015. If you cannot find them, or a license is expired or suspended, raise it with your board right away.
Q: Is a condo corporation in Ontario required to use a licensed manager?
A: This is not legal advice, but generally speaking under Ontario law, any person or business providing condominium management services for compensation must be licensed by the CMRAO. If your corporation is paying a company for management services in London or Sarnia Ontario, that company and the people running your building must hold valid licenses.
Q: What is the difference between a General and Limited CMRAO license?
A: A General Licensee has at least two years of supervised experience, has completed the CMRAO certificate program, and can manage your building independently. A Limited Licensee is newer to the field and must work under a General Licensee's supervision, with limits on signing contracts and authorizing spending. Knowing which one runs your building day to day is worth asking about.
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