Checking Condo Management Company References: What Ontario Boards Should Do
(From a Condominium Management Expert)
Practical Guidance for Smarter Governance in London & Sarnia, Ontario
Your board has narrowed the search to one or two condo management companies, the proposals look strong, and the people in the room seem capable. The last step before you sign is the one boards most often rush: actually calling the references and verifying what you have been told.
References are where a polished proposal meets reality. Done properly, a reference check tells you how a company performs when a pipe bursts at 2 a.m., when an owner is furious, and when the reserve fund is tight. This guide walks your board through exactly what to verify, who to call, and which answers should give you pause, so you can choose your next manager with confidence.
Start With the License: Verify Before You Call
Most condo management agreements in Ontario run for one to three years and renew automatically unless one party gives written notice within a defined window, often 60 or 90 days before the anniversary date. Boards that miss that window lose their negotiating position for another full year. If your board cannot say when your current agreement renews, fix that first.
The renewal date is the one point in the relationship where the corporation holds the leverage. A provider that knows the board reviews performance before every renewal behaves differently than one that assumes the contract will roll over untouched. Boards comparing condo management in London Ontario will also find proposals from other providers easiest to evaluate before a renewal deadline, not after one. If a move is on the table, timing it around the renewal window keeps costs down, and our guide on Switching Condo Management Companies in Ontario walks through how that works.
When the term and renewal clause is on the table, negotiate for:
• An initial term of one or two years rather than three or more
• Renewal in one-year increments, never multi-year automatic rollovers
• A renewal notice window the board can realistically act on, with the date recorded in the corporation's calendar
• A written performance review meeting scheduled before each renewal
• A cap or formula for management fee increases at renewal
Who to Actually Call, and Who to Avoid
Every company will hand you a short list of happy clients. Those calls are worth making, but they are not enough. A hand-picked reference is, by design, the company's best result. The more revealing conversations come from boards the company did not nominate: corporations of a similar size, age, and building type to yours, ideally in the same region. A high-rise with a pool has very different demands than a 24-unit townhouse condo, and a reference from the wrong kind of building tells you little about your own future.
Use the CAO condo registry to identify other corporations a company manages, then reach out to those boards directly. Ask whoever you speak with for one more name: the board they would call if they were in your position. That second-degree reference is often the most candid one you will get.
This may take some work but it definitely provides the most amount of value when checking references.
For boards weighing several proposals at once, lining references up against a consistent scorecard keeps the comparison honest. For more on structuring that comparison, read our guide: How to Evaluate Condo Management Proposals.
The Questions That Reveal How a Manager Really Performs
Vague questions get vague answers. "Are you happy with them?" almost always gets a yes. Specific, scenario-based questions surface the truth. Put these to every reference board:
• How quickly does the manager respond to emails and after-hours emergencies, and can you give a recent example?
• Do you receive a clear monthly financial and management report that you can actually understand?
• Has the manager ever missed a Condominium Act deadline, such as an AGM notice or the annual budget?
• How does the manager handle a difficult owner or a contentious meeting?
• When a major repair came up, did the manager plan ahead or scramble reactively?
• Has the manager assigned to your building changed often, and how were those transitions handled?
• Knowing what you know now, would you hire this company again?
The answers tell you whether you are buying responsive, proactive condominium management in London Ontario, or simply a name on a contract. It is worth pairing these reference questions with the same questions you put to the company directly, which we cover in Questions to Ask a Condo Management Company.
In conversation, we’ve found that boards who ask these questions before signing rarely end up in the painful position of switching again a year later.
Red Flags to Listen For During a Reference Call
Pay as much attention to hesitation as to words. A reference who pauses, hedges, or pivots to "well, they are fine for the price" is telling you something. Listen for patterns rather than one-off complaints, because every building has a bad week.
Warning signs worth probing:
• Repeated mentions of slow or unanswered communication
• Financial reports that arrive late, look inconsistent, or are hard to interpret
• A manager who changes frequently, with no proper handover between them
• Reactive maintenance, where problems are addressed only after they become emergencies
• Reluctance to provide references from comparable buildings in the first place
If two or more references describe the same problem, treat it as the rule, not the exception. Many boards only recognize these patterns in hindsight, after the relationship has soured. If your current arrangement already shows these signs, our guide on Switching Condo Management Companies in Ontario walks through how to change providers cleanly.
Turning Reference Checks Into a Confident Decision
Reference checking is not about finding a flawless company. It is about confirming that what a company promised in its proposal holds up when you talk to the boards living with the results. Document each call, compare the answers against the proposal, and weigh consistency over polish. A company that performs well for similar London and Sarnia Ontario corporations, holds clean CMRAO licensing, and earns genuine enthusiasm from boards it did not hand-pick is a company worth trusting with your building.
Finances deserve their own scrutiny here. If you want a second opinion on where your corporation's money is actually going before you commit, Sapphire will review your statements at no cost through our free financial review. It is a low-pressure way to see what a more transparent standard of reporting looks like.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How do I verify a condo management company is licensed in Ontario?
A: Search the company and the specific manager by name or licence number on the CMRAO public registry at cmrao.ca. Every individual and business providing condo management services in Ontario must hold a valid licence, and the registry shows any conditions, suspensions, or disciplinary history. If you cannot find them there, treat it as a serious warning sign.
Q: How many references should our board check before hiring a condo management company in London Ontario?
A: Aim for at least three, and make sure they are boards of similar building size, age, and type to yours. Do not rely only on the references the company hands you. Use the Condominium Authority of Ontario condo registry to find other corporations the company manages, then contact those boards directly for a more balanced picture.
Q: What is the single most important question to ask a condo management reference?
A: "Knowing what you know now, would you hire this company again?" It cuts through polite answers and invites an honest summary. Follow it with specific, scenario-based questions about emergency response, financial reporting, and Condominium Act deadlines to get the full picture.
Related Reading
→ How to Evaluate Condo Management Proposals