Any condo manager understands why it is important to keep good records, but committing to that responsibility isn’t always easy. When done manually, admin work is taxing and time-consuming. However, that excuse won’t hold up in court.
Let this story serve as a precautionary tale about poor or incomplete record-keeping. Read on to find out how to simplify the process and maintain a complete archive of Record of Notices of Leased Units without having to stash them all in filing cabinets.
Table of contents
- Background
- The issue
- The findings
- Requirements for Record of Notices of Leased Units
- The Act requires condos to archive these records indefinitely
- Here’s how your condo can avoid this problem
Background
A 2022 decision by the Condominium Authority Tribunal has clarified the extent of information that is required to be provided in Record of Notices of Leased Units to unit owners, along with other condo documents.
This occurred because a unit owner requested several different condo documents, and found them to be inaccurate and incomplete. He challenged the condo corporation and took the case to the Condominium Authority Tribunal (CAT). The Vice-Chair who heard the case sided with the unit owner, and ordered the corporation to take correctional actions and pay a small fine.
The issue
A unit owner asked for records in the summer of 2021. He believed the records that the condo provided him were inadequate. His concerns related to six categories of records:
- The most recently approved financial statements
- Auditor’s report
- Information certificates
- Record of notices of leased units
- Record of owners and mortgagees
- Board meeting minutes
The owner argued, among other things, that the record of notices of leased units was not accurate. The document contained 50 rows of units and addresses. However only 30 rows were unique, and the other 20 were duplicates.
The corporation said that the 20 duplicate rows indicated where units had more than one tenant. The CAT found this to be a reasonable explanation, but did not agree that the document was entirely accurate. The records didn’t include the information that was required under The Condominium Act.
While the Vice-Chair acknowledged that there are multiple condo corporations that only maintain a list of the currently leased units, and that there would appear to be very few occasions in which a historical record of the leasing of units would be of relevance or interest to the corporation or its owners, the Act clearly states that corporations are required to maintain and provide a list of all notices that it has received from owners.
The findings
The CAT concluded that the Record of Notices of Leased Units being maintained by the condominium did not include the information required under the Act.
The corporation was ordered to review and update its records (more than just the notices of leased units) and appropriately redact some board meeting minutes. The corporation had 30 days to make the changes and provide the owner with updated copies. It was also required to pay a penalty of $750 and reimburse the owner $200 for his CAT fees.
Requirements for Record of Notices of Leased Units
Just what are the requirements when it comes to these documents? The Act states that corporations must have 2 things:
1. A list of each unit in the condominium corporation for which one or more notices under Section 83 of the Act has been received.
2. For each unit in that list, an indication of:
a.) The type of each notice received (i.e. a notice of lease, a notice of renewal, or a notice of termination); and
b.) The date on which each notice was received by the condominium corporation.
Lease agreements or details of the lease are generally not producible and are likely exempt from examination under the Act.
While it’s not an extensive list, many communities may not be aware of the second requirement. Nonetheless, corporations should address missing information for older notices.
The Act requires condos to archive these records indefinitely
Creating complete records is one thing, but keeping these items indefinitely may seem excessive. Unfortunately, the Act says otherwise. So does this mean corporations must keep paper copies of the records forever? Not exactly. There is another way.
Here’s how your condo can avoid this problem
Avoid manual documentation, storage logistics issues and painful papercuts by using an electronic record management solution. Not only is it legal to maintain digital records, but it’s also cheaper and more efficient.
Condo Control even has a special spot for Record of Notices of Leased Units in its Unit File feature. The Unit File is a detailed database of all of your owners and tenants. Each unit has a field for you to enter information such as:
- Who owns the unit
- Who occupies the unit
- Unit closing date
- Other units belonging to the owner
- Vehicle information
- Asset information
Many of our clients are familiar with the Unit File, but don’t take full advantage of its capabilities. For example, it is also very easy to track lease details using this solution. When logging a new tenant, there are fields where you can document the name(s) of the lessee, lease start date, end date, lease amount, comments, and most importantly, files or attachments.
Upload notices directly to the renter’s profile, and never worry about losing it or tracking it down. You can find notices in seconds, and even run custom reports on lease details.
Finally, system administrators can access the Unit File archive which allows them to see units and users removed from the Unit File, as well as records associated with those profiles.
This solution provides many advantages, including giving property managers the freedom to update or manage records from any computer (you don’t have to be onsite).
If an owner makes a request for notices, you may be able to share them digitally instead of printing and mailing them. If there is a request to receive digital records, then management simply needs to provide the documents along with the board’s response to the Request for Records form.
Most importantly, this data management tool will help to keep your corporation away from legal troubles.
Conclusion
Maintaining condo documents such as the condo’s Record of Notices of Leased Units does not have to be hard. Condo Control takes into account how busy property managers are, and provides them with a process that allows them to complete tasks quickly and successfully.
If you want to learn more about this solution, don’t hesitate to reach out to your customer success manager.