Bill 186 2009

An Act to amend various Acts with respect to condominiums

Note: This Act amends or repeals more than one Act.  For the legislative history of these Acts, see the Table of Consolidated Public Statutes – Detailed Legislative History at www.e-Laws.gov.on.ca.

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Condominium Act, 1998

   1.  Subsections 7 (2) to (5) of the Condominium Act, 1998 are repealed and the following substituted:

Standard declaration

   (2)  The declaration shall contain the standard provisions set out in the regulations.

Transition

   (3)  Any declaration that is registered on the day the Condominium Owners Protection Act, 2009 comes into force is deemed to include the standard provisions and if any provision in the registered declaration conflicts with a standard provision, the standard provision prevails.

   2.  (1)  Subsection 29 (1) of the Act is amended by striking out "or" at the end of clause (b), by adding "or" at the end of clause (c) and by adding the following clause:

  (d)  the person has an affiliation with a declarant that would undermine the person's ability to act honestly and in good faith in discharging his or her duties as a director.

   (2)  Subsection 29 (2) of the Act is amended by striking out "or" at the end of clause (a), by adding "or" at the end of clause (b) and by adding the following clause:

   (c)  it is established that the person has an affiliation with a declarant that would undermine the person's ability to act honestly and in good faith in discharging his or her duties as a director.

   3.  Section 52 of the Act is amended by adding the following subsection:

Disputes

   (8)  Any dispute respecting the form or validity of an instrument appointing a proxy may be referred to the review board established under Part XIII.1.

   4.  Subsection 93 (2) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Purpose of fund

   (2)  A reserve fund shall be used solely for the purpose of,

  (a)  major repair and replacement of the common elements and assets of the corporation;

  (b)  repair and replacement of common elements following reasonable wear and tear; and

   (c)  installing renewable energy technologies and other energy efficient technologies.

   5.  The English version of subsection 95 (1) of the Act is amended by striking out "purpose" and substituting "purposes".

   6.  Section 97 of the Act is amended by adding the following subsection:

Exception

   (2.1)  No addition, alteration, improvement or change shall be made under subsection (2) if the total cost of the addition, alteration, improvement or change is more than the greater of $1,000 and 1 per cent of the annual budgeted common expenses for the current fiscal year.

   7.  Clause 107 (2) (d) of the Act is amended by striking out "clause 7 (2) (c), (d) or (f) or 7 (4) (e)" at the end and substituting "section 7".

   8.  Subsection 125 (2) of the Act is repealed.

   9.  (1)  Subsection 131 (1) of the Act is amended by striking out "the Superior Court of Justice" and substituting "the review board designated under Part XIII.1".

   (2)  Subsection 131 (2) of the Act is amended by striking out "court" wherever it appears and substituting in each case "review board".

   (3)  Clause 131 (3) (c) of the Act is amended by striking out "the court" and substituting "the review board".

   (4)  Subsection 131 (4) of the Act is amended by striking out "the court" wherever it appears and substituting in each case "the review board".

   10.  Section 132 of the Act is repealed.

   11.  Section 133 of the Act is amended by adding the following subsection:

Deemed reliance on misrepresentation

   (3)  An owner who makes an application under subsection (2) is deemed to have relied on any false, deceptive or misleading material statement or material information that the declarant provided under this Act, unless it is proven that the owner purchased the unit with the knowledge that the material statement or material information is false, deceptive or misleading.

   12.  Subsection 134 (2) of the Act is repealed.

   13.  Subsection 137 (1) of the Act is amended by adding "52 (4) or (5)" before "55 (1)".

   14.  Section 140 of the Act is amended by striking out "subsection 7 (2)" in the portion before clause (a) and substituting "section 7".

   15.  Subsection 168 (4) of the Act is repealed.

   16.  The Act is amended by adding the following Part:

PART Xiii.1
REVIEW BOARd

Review board

   175.1  (1)  The Lieutenant Governor in Council shall designate a non-profit corporation incorporated without share capital under the Corporations Act to be the review board for the purposes of this Act.

Board of directors

   (2)  No corporation shall be designated under subsection (1) whose by-laws do not provide for representation of owners of units on the board of directors.

Qualifications

   (3)  No person shall be a director if,

  (a)  the person is less than 18 years of age;

  (b)  the person does not have demonstrable experience and knowledge of homeowner advocacy and consumer protection issues; and

   (c)  the person has an affiliation with a declarant that would undermine the person's ability to act honestly and in good faith in discharging his or her duties as a director.

Objects

   (4)  Upon its designation, the objects of the corporation include,

  (a)  advising and assisting the public in matters relating to condominiums;

  (b)  establishing a panel to mediate or arbitrate disputes between,

           (i)  a declarant and a corporation,

          (ii)  two or more corporations,

         (iii)  a corporation and a unit owner,

         (iv)  two or more unit owners, and

          (v)  a corporation and a person for the management of the property;

   (c)  disseminating information for the purpose of educating and advising corporations and unit owners concerning condominium matters and the financial, operating and management practices of corporations; and

  (d)  assisting in the formulation and conduct of educational courses for property management.

Deposit

   (5)  Upon the registration of the declaration and description of a condominium, a declarant shall deposit the prescribed amount with the review board, and the review board shall return the deposit once it is satisfied that all issues and deficiencies identified in the performance audit under section 44 have been addressed.

Review officers

   (6)  The review board shall appoint review officers who shall perform the duties and exercise the powers given to them by this Act and the regulations under the supervision of the review board and shall perform such other duties as are assigned to them by the review board.

Annual report

   (7)  The review board shall submit an annual report on its affairs to the Minister, who shall submit the report to the Lieutenant Governor in Council and shall then lay the report before the Assembly if it is in session or, if not, at the next session.

Material for filing

   (8)  Every declarant shall file with the review board the material set out in clauses 43 (5) (b) to (f) prior to the meeting required under subsection 43 (1).

Not a Crown agency

   (9)  The review board is not an agent of Her Majesty nor a Crown agent for the purposes of the Crown Agency Act.

   17.  Section 176 of the Act is amended by adding the following subsection:

No derogation of other rights

   (2)  The rights conferred by this Act are in addition to and do not derogate from any other right or remedy an owner or purchaser may have at law.

   18.  The Act is amended by adding the following section:

Fair dealing

   176.1  (1)  A duty of fair dealing is imposed on,

  (a)  every declarant in its dealings with a corporation, owner or purchaser; and

  (b)  every corporation in its dealings with an owner or purchaser.

Right of action

   (2)  A corporation, owner or purchaser has a right of action for damages against a person who breaches the duty of fair dealing.

Interpretation

   (3)  For the purpose of this section, the duty of fair dealing includes the duty to act in good faith and in accordance with reasonable commercial standards.

   19.  Subsection 177 (1) of the Act is amended by adding the following paragraph:

24.1 providing for transitional matters which, in the opinion of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, are necessary or desirable in connection with the implementation of the amendments to this Act made by the Condominium Owners Protection Act, 2009;

Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act

   20.  Clause (c) of the definition of "home" in section 1 of the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act is repealed and the following substituted:

   (c)  a condominium dwelling unit, including a unit in a conversion condominium, and the common elements, or

   21.  (1)  Subsection 2 (2) of the Act is amended by adding the following clause:

(0.a) serving as a consumer protection agency;

   (2)  Section 2 of the Act is amended by adding the following subsection:

Board of directors

   (2.1)  The composition of the board of directors of the Corporation shall be in accordance with the following:

    1.  At least half of the directors shall have demonstrable experience in consumer protection and advocacy.

    2.  At least two of the directors shall have demonstrable experience in representing homeowners, including condominium owners.

    3.  One director shall represent builders.

   22.  Clause 15 (a) of the Act is amended by adding "or a corporation for a conversion condominium" after "a condominium corporation".

   23.  Section 17 of the Act is amended by adding the following subsection:

Time

   (1.1)  A conciliation of a dispute shall be completed within the prescribed time.

Building Code Act, 1992

   24.  Section 34 of the Building Code Act, 1992 is amended by adding the following subsection:

Noise standards

   (2.3)  Regulations made under subsection (1) are deemed to require noise protection standards to be reviewed and updated within 12 months after the day the Condominium Owners Protection Act, 2009 comes into force.

Commencement and Short Title

Commencement

   25.  This Act comes into force six months after the day it receives Royal Assent.

Short title

   26.  The short title of this Act is the Condominium Owners Protection Act, 2009.

 

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Condominium Act, 1998 is amended to require that every declaration contain the standard provisions set out in the regulations. A duty of fair dealing is imposed on all declarants and condominium corporations in their dealings with owners and purchasers of condominium units. The misuse of proxy instruments is made an offence liable to a fine.

The Bill amends the Act to permit a corporation to access its reserve fund for the purposes of installing renewable energy and other energy efficient technologies and replacing common elements following reasonable wear and tear.

A review board is established under Part XIII.1. The review board's objects include advising the public on matters relating to condominiums, providing information to condominium corporations and owners of condominium units on matters of concern to them and assisting in the resolution of disputes, including disputes involving the validity of proxy instruments.

The Bill also contains various amendments to the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act.  The definition of "home" is amended to include units in conversion condominiums. The Bill amends the objects of the Corporation designated under the Act to include the object of serving as a consumer protection agency.  Requirements are included as to the composition of the board of the Corporation so that at least half of the directors must have experience in consumer protection and advocacy, and at least two directors must have experience representing homeowners. The Bill also requires that conciliations conducted by the Corporation are required to be completed within the prescribed time.

Finally, the Bill amends the Building Code Act, 1992 to deem that regulations made under the Act include the requirement that noise protection standards are to be reviewed and updated within 12 months after the day the Act comes into force.