Condo Governing Documents in Ontario: Board Guide
(From a Condominium Management Expert)
Practical Guidance for Smarter Governance in London & Sarnia, Ontario
Most board members inherit their condo's governing documents rather than read them. You were handed a binder, or a link to a PDF, and told the declaration, by-laws, and rules were somewhere inside. Then a dispute comes up, and suddenly which document says what matters a great deal.
Understanding your condo governing documents is one of the highest-value things a director in London or Sarnia can do, because almost every decision your board makes traces back to one of these three documents. This guide explains what each one is, how they rank against each other, and what a well-run management relationship should be doing to keep them working for you.
The Three Layers of a Condo's Governing Documents
Every Ontario condo corporation is governed by three tiers of documents, with the Condominium Act, 1998 sitting above them all. They work as a hierarchy, and each layer must comply with everything above it. This is not legal advice, but generally speaking under Ontario law, a provision that conflicts with a higher document is unenforceable.
• The Condominium Act, 1998 and its regulations: provincial law. Nothing your corporation adopts can override it.
• The declaration: your corporation's founding document, sitting below the Act and above everything else.
• The by-laws: the operating manual for how the corporation runs itself.
• The rules: day-to-day standards for how people use the property.
When two documents appear to conflict, the higher one wins. Knowing that order alone resolves a surprising number of board disagreements before they turn into formal disputes.
The Declaration: Your Corporation's Foundation
The declaration is created by the developer, known as the declarant, when the corporation is registered, and it is the hardest document to change. It defines what you actually own and what is shared: the boundaries of each unit, the common elements, any exclusive-use areas such as balconies or parking spaces, and the percentage of common expenses each unit pays. It also sets out the big-picture use restrictions for the property.
Because the declaration defines both ownership and money, Ontario law sets a high bar to amend it. Depending on the provision, you generally need the written consent of owners of 80 to 90 percent of the units. That permanence is deliberate, since buyers and lenders rely on the declaration staying stable.
• Unit and common element boundaries
• Exclusive-use common elements such as balconies, patios, and parking
• Common expense (condo fee) allocation for each unit
• Major use restrictions on units and common elements
• Core provisions tied to the reserve fund and insurance
The By-laws: How Your Corporation Runs Itself
If the declaration is the constitution, the by-laws are the operating manual. They govern the internal machinery of the corporation: how directors are elected and removed, quorum and meeting procedures, how the board signs contracts and borrows money, and the standard unit definition used for insurance. By-laws must be reasonable and cannot conflict with the Act or the declaration.
Passing or amending a by-law is more achievable than amending the declaration. Generally, the board approves the by-law and then owners of a majority of the units must vote in favour for it to take effect. This is exactly why your election, voting, and meeting procedures live in this layer rather than in the rules.
For more on how those election provisions actually play out at the ballot, read our guide: Condo Board Elections in Ontario: What Every Director Should Know.
The Rules: The Day-to-Day Standard
Rules cover daily life in the building: noise, pets, parking, garbage, and the use of amenities. The legal test is that a rule must be reasonable and aimed at safety, security, or preventing unreasonable interference with the use and enjoyment of the units and common elements.
Rules are the easiest layer to change, which is also why they cause the most friction when handled poorly. Generally, the board passes a rule and then circulates it to owners with notice that they can requisition a meeting. If no meeting is requisitioned within 30 days, the rule takes effect. If owners do requisition a meeting, the rule only stands if a majority of the owners present vote in favour of it.
Pet restrictions are the classic example of a rule that has to be drafted carefully to be enforceable, which we cover in Pet Policies in Ontario Condos. When enforcement itself becomes the problem, our guide on Enforcing Condo Rules and Bylaws in Ontario walks through the steps a board should follow.
What Good Management Does With Your Governing Documents
Here is where many boards quietly lose value. Your governing documents should be living tools, not a binder nobody opens. A strong condominium management company keeps a current, organized set on file, flags when a rule is unenforceable as written, makes sure new directors actually receive the documents, and confirms that the declaration's common expense percentages are being applied correctly to every owner's fees. If your current manager cannot produce your full, up-to-date governing documents on request, or treats tracking them as the board's problem, that is a gap worth noticing.
For condo corp management to work the way it should, the management company has to treat these documents as core infrastructure, not paperwork. Whether your building is in London or Sarnia Ontario, the standard is the same. London Ontario boards working with Sapphire often find that simply having clean, accessible documents leads to faster, cleaner decisions and fewer disputes.
Because the declaration dictates how common expenses are allocated, an error there quietly costs owners money year after year. If you would like a second opinion on how your fees are allocated and spent, Sapphire offers a free financial review, on us: sapphirecondomgmt.ca/financial-review-on-us. It is a simple way to confirm that your documents and your budget actually line up.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the difference between a condo declaration, by-laws, and rules in Ontario?
A: The declaration defines what you own and pay, including unit boundaries, common elements, and each unit's share of common expenses. The by-laws govern how the corporation operates, such as elections and meetings. The rules set day-to-day standards like noise and pets. They rank in that order, and none of them can conflict with the Condominium Act, 1998.
Q: How are condo rules passed in Ontario?
A: This is not legal advice, but generally speaking under Ontario law, the board passes a rule and circulates it to owners with notice of their right to requisition a meeting. If no meeting is requisitioned within 30 days, the rule takes effect. If a meeting is requisitioned, the rule stands only if a majority of owners present vote in favour.
Q: Who keeps a condo corporation's governing documents in London Ontario?
A: The corporation owns its records, but in practice your management company maintains and produces them. A board using professional condominium management in London Ontario should be able to request the current declaration, by-laws, and rules and receive them quickly. Self-managed boards carry that record-keeping responsibility entirely on their own, which is one of the heavier parts of the job.
Related Reading
→ Condo Board Elections in Ontario: What Every Director Should Know