As many will know, the Condominium Authority of Ontario (CAO) conducted a public consultation on the proposed fees to be charged by the CAO for its services including the fees for the Condominium Authority Tribunal (CAT), and it received considerable feedback and input.

The following are the fees announced.

CAO Assessments

Fee will be a monthly assessment/fee per voting unit (i.e. excludes parking and storage units, etc.) of $1.00 or $12.00 per year, payable by the condo corporation as part of their operating budget. For common elements condominium corporations the fee will be per vote.

Corporations will receive a package from the CAO in late August which will provide details on how to register and pay their assessments. Initial assessments will cover the period from September 1, 2017 to March 31, 2018, and will be due to the CAO by December 31, 2017.

Therefore, be sure to start budgetting for this.

Condominium Authority Tribunal (CAT) Fees

When someone has an issue they will first be assisted through the CAO's online guided pathway tool (no fee or charge). If this does not resolve the matter they can then commence a formal dispute and the online dispute resolution mechanism will have three stages with the following fees.

1. Filing fee of $25.00 – Provides access to the CAT's online dispute resolution system where they can negotiate in a neutral forum and hopefully resolve the dispute themselves.

2. Assisted resolution Fee of $50.00 – Provides the parties with a dedicated CAT mediator who will attempt to settle the dispute collaboratively.

3. Tribunal decision fee of $100.00 – Provides a dedicated CAT member who will conduct a formal adjudication (mostly online) and issue a binding order.

All CAT fees are non-refundable.

These fees will become effective on November 1, 2017, when the CAT begins accepting applications. These fees will be paid by the individual who filed the dispute.

Today the Honourable Tracy MacCharles, Minister of Government and Consumer Services, accompanied by Han Dong, MPP Trinity-Spadina, announced the government’s key new condo law changes that will come into effect this fall.

New changes include:

• improving communication between condo boards and owners,
• mandatory training for condo directors,
• improving meeting and voting procedures,
• implementing a low-cost dispute resolution tribunal,
• mandatory licensing of condo managers and condo management providers, and
• mandatory education and exam requirements for condo managers.

Additionally, the government will designate two condo administrative authorities – The Condominium Authority of Ontario (CAO) and The Condominium Management Regulatory Authority of Ontario (CMRAO).

The condo law changes are part of the government’s commitment to help build healthy condo communities and make positive changes that meet the needs of the province’s rapidly-growing condo sector.

For additional information on the Minister’s announcement, please see the news release.

For additional information on the education and exam requirements for condo managers, please see the Minister's education designation.

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