Condominium Manager Magazine

The City of Toronto’s Net-Zero Existing Buildings Strategy has set the stage for all existing buildings in Toronto to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to net-zero by 2050. To reach this important goal, all existing buildings will have to be significantly transformed and retrofitted.

The new regime gives the contractor and sub-contractors a method to ensure payment is made when it is rightfully due, without terminating the contract for non-payment and walking off-site.

The two most common methods of renovating an existing condominium building are hiring one team that does both design and construction or hiring a designer first and then tendering the contractor afterwards. It sounds easy. Yet, under this apparent simplicity lies a web so intricate and complex that boards can rarely cut through all the fine print with confidence and ensure a reliable service for their owners.

With more people working from home and experiencing pandemic-related cost sensitivity, condominiums are now challenged to support the increased reliance on common elements and amenities and show residents that their fees are being spent wisely to improve the community.

Grease and sludge build-up have been shown to cause millions of dollars of insurance claims and damaged property throughout the high-rise condominium industry.

A condominium is more than a mere asset; it is possibly the largest investment the owner will ever make; and, more importantly, it is their home. Understandably, condominium boards and owners want the best for their homes, and that extends to how they are managed.

Does your condominium have a proper plan in place for reserve fund expenses? Condominium boards are often unaware that the planning you do above and beyond your reserve fund study will save time and money. 

Communication has always been important for condo communities, but it’s even more essential now. If you are reopening your gym to residents, how will you ensure they are up-to-date on the latest rules or policies? How will you ensure overcrowding doesn’t occur? Using a safe and accessible form of digital communication, boards and property managers can safely reopen gyms and other facilities and allow residents to run, lift, and sweat again.

Virtual meetings have gone from a begrudged necessity to a comfortable new norm. With many of the technical difficulties associated with virtual meetings ironed out over the last year, condominium corporations are now finding that their processes can carry on as normal despite the limitations on gathering in-person.

The pandemic has forced all of us to make dramatic changes in our personal and professional lives, and condominium corporations are no exception. Board members, managers and unit owners have been forced to fundamentally change how they go about conducting business in their communities – holding meetings in person is no longer feasible, nor is expecting owners to cast their vote in person.

Chargeback claims against a unit owner often turn into a dispute unless clearly documented evidence and adherence to a set of chargeback procedures can convince the owner that the corporation’s claim is valid. Two recent cases highlight the need to take care.

With ever-rising insurance premiums on Condominium Corporation’s in Ontario, the best thing that Condominium Corporations can do is manage the risk. To keep premiums low, active risk management shows insurance carriers that the corporation is doing everything they can to avoid the need to file an insurance claim. Keeping owners informed and asking them to participate in mitigating these risks can help minimize insurance claims for both the corporation and the owners themselves.

As climate changes, a building’s wellness and control become increasingly top-of-mind for managers, and multi-residential buildings (condos, especially) offer an untapped opportunity to become a sustainability leader.

Any project, including a building retrofit, benefits from having several key components: a measurable goal, an action plan, and a way to evaluate the results. Although these would appear to be simple enough, often retrofit projects lack the specificity and clarity needed for their success.

As a property manager, you are expected to be the jack-of-all-trades, and it is challenging navigating through so many different trades and disciplines in your buildings. The following practices are something that any contractor appreciate in the daily interactions we have with property managers.