Full Condo Management in London and Sarnia: What Sapphire's Service Includes
(From a Condominium Management Expert)
Practical Guidance for Smarter Governance in London & Sarnia, Ontario
Your corporation pays for full condo management, but a director still chases the snow contractor, owners still email board members at home, and the monthly statements raise more questions than they answer. Somewhere between the contract and the building, the "full" part went missing.
This guide sets out what full condo management in London Ontario and Sarnia Ontario should include, piece by piece, using the way Sapphire Condominium Management delivers it as the example. Use it as a checklist to compare against the service your board receives today.
What does full condo management include in London Ontario?
Full condo management means the management company runs the day-to-day operation of the corporation for the board: board support, owner communication, financial reporting, vendor coordination, and reserve fund planning. The board still makes the decisions. The manager does the work that turns those decisions into results.
This is not legal advice, but generally speaking under Ontario law, section 27 (1) of the Condominium Act, 1998 says the board manages the affairs of the corporation, and section 17 (2) gives the corporation the duty to control, manage and administer the common elements and assets. A full management company carries out that work on the board's behalf, so directors are not doing it themselves.
At Sapphire, our full management service is built on five parts:
• Full board support
• Continuous owner communication
• Financial reporting
• Vendor coordination
• Reserve fund planning and management
If your board is still unsure whether it is buying full service or something narrower, our guide on Full-Service vs Financial-Only Condo Management: What Ontario Boards Should Understand explains the difference.
What board support should a full management company provide?
Full board support means the manager prepares and runs the paperwork side of governance, so meetings lead to decisions and decisions lead to action. Directors should arrive at a meeting with an agenda, reports and options already in hand.
In practice, full board support should cover board meeting packages, minutes, follow-up on every action item, and the annual cycle of owner meetings and filings. This is not legal advice, but generally speaking under Ontario law, section 45 (2) of the Condominium Act, 1998 requires an annual general meeting within six months of each fiscal year end. Section 26.3 requires information certificates to owners at the prescribed times, and section 55 (1) requires the corporation to keep adequate records, including its minute book and financial records.
A full manager tracks those dates, keeps the records in order, and tells the board what is coming before it becomes urgent.
How should owner communication work under full management?
Owners should know who to call, get an answer quickly, and never need to track down a director to get something done. Under full management, the office handles owner calls, emails, requests and notices so the board does not become the help desk.
That includes routine questions, maintenance requests, alteration requests, status certificate requests, and building notices. At Sapphire, we use UpperBee, a condo management platform, to keep communication and follow-up clear. We also measure our response times: 88.2% of phone calls answered and an average email response under 90 minutes (Sapphire internal tracking).
The standard we hold ourselves to is simple: a manager who answers, and the same service year in and year out.
What financial reporting should your board receive every month?
Your board should receive clear monthly financial statements that separate the operating fund from the reserve fund, show budget against actual, and explain anything unusual in plain words. If directors cannot read the statements without help, the reporting is not doing its job.
This is not legal advice, but generally speaking under Ontario law, section 66 (1) of the Condominium Act, 1998 requires financial statements prepared in the prescribed manner, and section 66 (2) lists what they must include, such as a balance sheet and a statement of reserve fund operations. Section 69 (1) requires the board to place the approved financial statements and the auditor's report before each annual general meeting.
Our guide on What Your Condo Management Company Should Be Reporting to You Monthly lists the reports to expect. If you would like a second opinion on your current statements, you can request a free financial review on us.
How should vendors and the reserve fund be handled?
Under full management, the manager finds qualified contractors, gets comparable quotes, checks invoices against those quotes, and follows the work through to completion. Directors approve the spending. They should not be chasing contractors.
The reserve fund is part of the same job. This is not legal advice, but generally speaking under Ontario law, section 93 (2) of the Condominium Act, 1998 limits the reserve fund to major repair and replacement of the common elements and assets, and section 94 (1) requires periodic reserve fund studies. A full manager plans projects against the study, reports on progress, and warns the board early when a roof, paving or window cycle is coming due.
What changes when a London or Sarnia board switches to full management?
The first change should be a structured handover, not a gap. When a corporation moves to Sapphire, the onboarding process includes a dedicated onboarding manager as a single point of contact, an internal audit of the records to catch issues such as duplicate payments, a review of the reserve fund against the reserve fund study, and owner welcome packages.
We manage townhouse, high-rise, apartment-style, vacant land and commercial condominiums across London Ontario and Sarnia Ontario. Our team brings 25+ years of combined condo management experience to every corporation we serve.
For the full sequence, read our guide: Switching Condo Management Companies in London Ontario: What the Board Actually Does.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the difference between full condo management and financial-only management in London Ontario?
A: Full condo management covers the whole operation: board support, owner communication, finances, vendors and reserve planning. Financial-only management covers the money side, such as reporting, fee collection and budgets, while the board handles operations. Both must be delivered by a provider licensed under the Condominium Management Services Act, 2015, as section 17.0.1 of the Condominium Act, 1998 requires.
Q: Does a full management company make decisions for the condo board?
A: No. The board stays in charge. This is not legal advice, but generally speaking under Ontario law, section 27 (1) of the Condominium Act, 1998 says the board manages the affairs of the corporation. A full management company prepares the options, carries out the board's decisions, and reports back on the results.
Q: Does Sapphire offer full condo management in Sarnia as well as London?
A: Yes. Sapphire Condominium Management provides full condo management to condominium corporations in London Ontario and Sarnia Ontario, including townhouse, high-rise, vacant land and commercial communities. Boards can also request a free financial review before making any decision about their current management.
Related Reading
→ Full-Service vs Financial-Only Condo Management: What Ontario Boards Should Understand
→ What Your Condo Management Company Should Be Reporting to You Monthly
→ Switching Condo Management Companies in London Ontario: What the Board Actually Does