Why is management being so tough?
For example:
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Can’t I have more time to pay my common expenses ?
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Can’t you just pretend I don’t have a dog?
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So I forgot to talk to you before I put in a hardwood floor, what’s the big deal ?
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I need a satellite dish for foreign language programming; just let me have one!
Management is retained and directed by your Board of Directors, for the benefit of all owners and residents. Our role is to ensure that the condominium corporation and your community is well maintained and operated in accordance with the Condominium Act and your condominium’s declaration, by-laws and rules. Under Section 17(3) of the Condominium Act, 1998 the Board and management have a legal duty to take all reasonable steps to ensure that owners, residents, visitors and staff comply with the provisions of the Act, declaration, by-laws and rules. Section 119(1) and 119(2) require that the Board, owners, occupiers of suites, visitors and staff comply with those same legal authorities. Finally, under Section 119(3) residents have a right to require owners and occupiers of units to comply and they fully expect that management and the Board will take the necessary actions to affect compliance. None of us can ignore those duties. Nor can we be inconsistent in our efforts to ensure that all parties abide. Through case law, the courts have established that condominium corporations must be consistent in their application of the law.
Living in a multi-residential building has its inherent challenges. Residents live in very close proximity, with neighbours beside, above and below. The lifestyles and behaviours of one resident can easily and negatively impact several others. Without the Board’s and management’s attention to compliance with the Act and your condominium’s declaration, by-laws and rules, the condominium concept would cease to be viable. In the absence of timely payment of fees by all owners, revenues would be unpredictable and insufficient for necessary maintenance and basic utilities. If provisions governing how residents occupy, use and maintain their suites were not enforced, residents would come into conflict over issues such as inadequate sound attenuation under hardwood floors or leaking plumbing fixtures causing damage to suites below. Use of common elements would also cause tensions between residents over issues like damage and noise caused by pets and by improper uses of parking spaces, moving elevators and party rooms.
Consistent enforcement of, and compliance with, the Condominium Act, declaration, by-laws and rules are both a legal duty and a practical necessity which your Board and management must address for the well-being of the entire community.
What do our condominium fees cover and why do they seem so high? What am I getting for the money?
Everyone wants to get value for money. Condominium owners are no exception.
Condominium fees and the underlying annual budgets vary from one condominium corporation to another. Maintenance and repair responsibilities vary as does the responsibility for some utilities. In some buildings, the corporation pays for cable TV. In newly constructed buildings suites are sub-metered for hydro so that unit owners pay directly for electricity consumed in their suite. However, in most buildings built prior to 2006 all electricity consumed in the building is paid for by the condominium corporation and passed on to owners through maintenance fees. Some buildings also have expensive amenities like indoor and outdoor swimming pools, exterior waterfalls and fountains, others do not. Any effort to understand your maintenance fees and how they compare to fees in other buildings really requires a careful apples-to-apples analysis.
With that as background information, condominium fees, in general , breakdown as follows:
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Utilities (hydro, water & gas) 30%
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Contracts (cleaning, security, landscaping, preventative maintenance, management…) 20%
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Reserve Fund Contribution (required by law) 25%
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Minor Repairs & Maintenance 10%
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On-Site Wages (superintendent…) 4%
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Administration, insurance and other (shared facilities) 11%
As you can see, utilities and the mandatory reserve fund contribution account for more that half of the typical monthly maintenance fees. Major contracts like security (10%), cleaning (3%), landscaping & snow removal (1.5%), management, HVAC maintenance and others account for another twenty percent in total. Minor repairs and maintenance to common elements such as windows, walls, roofs, plumbing, electrical and interior finishes accounts for ten percent, leaving the balance for the superintendent’s wage, insurance and administrative expenses such as telephone bills, lawyers and consultants, office and meeting costs.
Your condominium’s annual budget is initially developed by management in consultation with the Board of Directors. The Board reviews the budget in detail and may make adjustments before approving it. Some condominium owners believe that owners should approve budgets. However, the Condominium Act and many rulings by the courts make it clear that the Board is duty-bound to make such decisions and that Boards cannot delegate that responsibility to owners. Condominiums must be properly maintained to protect resident safety and property values. Budgets must always be responsible before they are politically popular. Keep in mind that your directors are almost certainly owners, too. As such, they must pay the same fees and therefore share your overall concern.
To assist our clients understand how their condominium corporation’s costs compare to others, Brookfield prepares an annual Common Charge Survey. The survey helps your Board understand how it compares to other condominiums in key expense categories. The Board and management work very hard to keep costs down. Energy audits are conducted to look for opportunities to keep ever-rising utility costs under control. Brookfield, as the management company for more than 260 condominium corporations, uses its purchasing power to negotiate favourable pricing in numerous bulk purchase arrangements. Effective internal controls and contractor supervision help ensure maximum value. Competitive bidding on contracts and purchase/work orders above a few thousand dollars in value also helps ensure that costs are kept as low as possible.
In short, your Board and management work diligently to provide the necessary services, meet statutory requirements and perform the required maintenance and repair while keeping costs reasonable so as to ensure that your condominium corporation is competitive in the real estate marketplace. |