What Does a Condo Board Do in Ontario: What Every New Director Should Understand

The Board's Legal Role Under Ontario's Condominium Act

Every condominium in Ontario is a corporation created under the Condominium Act, 1998. The corporation owns the responsibility for the common elements, the shared finances, and the rules of the community. The Act places the management of the corporation's affairs in the hands of a board of directors, and that board must have at least three directors. Owners elect the directors, and directors elect their officers, typically a president, secretary and treasurer.

Directors usually serve terms of up to three years, and many corporations stagger those terms so the whole board never turns over at once. Directors are volunteers, but the standard they are held to is not casual. The Act requires every director to act honestly and in good faith, and to exercise the care, diligence and skill that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in comparable circumstances.

That standard is less frightening than it sounds. It does not require directors to be engineers, accountants or lawyers. It requires them to be informed, to ask questions, to rely on qualified professionals where appropriate, and to put the corporation's interests ahead of their own. Most of the trouble boards get into traces back to decisions made casually, not decisions made imperfectly.

What Does a Condo Board Do Day to Day? The Core Responsibilities

The Act assigns the corporation a long list of obligations, and the board is the body accountable for making sure each one is met. Most condo board responsibilities in Ontario fall into a handful of categories that repeat every year:

•       Approve the annual budget and set common expense fees at a level that genuinely funds the building's obligations

•       Maintain and repair the common elements, from roofs and hallways to parking areas

•       Fund the reserve fund and keep the reserve fund study current, with updates at least every three years as Ontario regulation requires

•       Keep adequate insurance on the building and the corporation

•       Make, amend and enforce the declaration, bylaws and rules fairly and consistently

•       Maintain corporate records and respond properly to owner requests for them

•       Call and hold the annual general meeting within six months of the corporation's fiscal year end

•       Hire and oversee the professionals who serve the corporation, including the management company, auditor and legal counsel

None of this requires directors to do the physical or administrative work themselves. It requires them to make informed decisions and to supervise the people who do. London and Sarnia boards working with Sapphire often tell us the role became manageable the moment that distinction clicked. For a closer look at the legal duty sitting behind these responsibilities, read our guide: Condo Board Member Liability in Ontario.

The Board Decides, the Management Company Executes

A common point of confusion for new directors is the dividing line between the board and the management company. The board sets direction: it approves budgets, awards contracts, passes rules and makes the decisions the Act assigns to directors. The management company carries those decisions out. In Ontario, condominium managers and management providers must be licensed by the CMRAO, the provincial regulator that sets education and conduct standards for the profession.

If your corporation already works with a manager, it is worth knowing what that relationship should look like, because service levels in condo corp management vary widely. A capable manager prepares agendas and board materials in advance, delivers clear monthly financial reporting, coordinates contractors, tracks arrears, and keeps the board ahead of compliance deadlines instead of behind them. Boards that experience strong condo management in London Ontario or Sarnia describe a manager who brings issues forward with a recommendation attached, not a problem dropped in the board's lap. For a detailed breakdown of what you should be receiving, read our guide: What Your Condo Management Company Should Be Reporting to You Monthly.

New directors are often the first to notice gaps, precisely because they look at everything with fresh eyes. If the financial package your board receives each month raises more questions than it answers, act on that instinct early. At Sapphire, we offer boards a free financial review, a second opinion on your corporation's financial statements on us, with no obligation attached.

Mandatory Training: What Ontario Requires of Every New Director

Ontario does not leave new directors to figure out the role alone. Every director who is elected, appointed or re-elected must complete the Condominium Authority of Ontario's director training within six months, unless they completed it within the preceding seven years. The CAO training is free, online and self-paced, and most people finish it over a few evenings.

This is not legal advice, but generally speaking under Ontario law, the deadline has teeth: a director who misses the six month window is automatically disqualified and loses the seat, and the corporation must then notify the CAO and the owners of the vacancy. Completing the modules early removes the risk entirely, and the content doubles as a useful orientation to everything else in this article.

Beyond the mandatory course, the fastest way up the learning curve is reading your own corporation's documents: the declaration, bylaws and rules, the current budget, the most recent reserve fund study, and the minutes from the last few meetings. If you joined mid-term, ask how the seat became vacant and when the next election lands. For how that process works, read our guide: Condo Board Elections in Ontario: What Every Director Should Know.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What does a condo board do in Ontario?

A: The board manages the affairs of the condominium corporation on behalf of all owners. In practice that means approving the budget and setting condo fees, maintaining the common elements, funding the reserve fund, enforcing the governing documents, keeping records, holding the annual general meeting, and overseeing the professionals the corporation hires. Directors make the decisions; the management company executes them day to day.

Q: How many directors does an Ontario condo board need?

A: This is not legal advice, but generally speaking under Ontario law, the Condominium Act requires a board of at least three directors, and a corporation's bylaws can set a larger number. Directors serve terms of up to three years, and a majority of the board makes a quorum for meetings. Self-managed corporations follow exactly the same rules, with the directors absorbing the administrative work a manager would otherwise carry.

Q: What is the difference between the condo board and a condo management company in London Ontario?

A: The board is the elected decision-making body; the management company is the licensed professional firm that carries out the board's decisions, from financial reporting to contractor coordination. Whether a board is in London, Sarnia or anywhere else in Ontario, the management agreement defines exactly which tasks the manager performs, so reviewing that agreement is the quickest way to see whether your corporation is receiving everything it pays for.

Related Reading

→ Condo Board Member Liability in Ontario

→ What Your Condo Management Company Should Be Reporting to You Monthly

→ Condo Board Elections in Ontario: What Every Director Should Know