Handling Owner Records Requests in Ontario Condos: Section 55, Timelines and Fees

By Eric Plant, Director, RCM, MBA

Why records requests deserve a process, not a reaction

Every Ontario condo board will receive a records request sooner or later. Sometimes it comes from a curious owner who wants to read the budget. Sometimes it comes from a frustrated owner in the middle of a dispute who wants contracts, invoices, emails and legal opinions. Either way, the Condominium Act, 1998 and Ontario Regulation 48/01 set out a formal procedure, with prescribed forms, fixed timelines and fee limits. Boards that improvise tend to end up at the Condominium Authority Tribunal.

This guide walks Ontario and Toronto condo boards through a condo records request from start to finish: who can ask, how core and non-core records are treated differently, what the board must say in its response and when, what the corporation can charge, which records are excluded from examination, and how records disputes play out at the Tribunal. Board meeting minutes are one of the most commonly requested records, and we cover them separately in our board meeting minutes guide, including what minutes should contain, how long to keep them and how to prepare them for redaction. This article focuses on the request process as a whole.

This is general information for Ontario condo boards, not legal advice. Your corporation's lawyer should guide any decision to refuse or redact a record.

What section 55 actually requires

Section 55 of the Act does two things. First, it requires the corporation to keep adequate records, and lists many of them: financial records, minutes of owners' and board meetings, the declaration, by-laws and rules, the record of owners and mortgagees, records relating to leases of units, reserve fund studies and plans, agreements, and other records the regulation prescribes. Second, it gives owners, purchasers and mortgagees of a unit, and their agents authorized in writing, a right to examine or obtain copies of those records, subject to exclusions and the procedure in the regulation.

Who can ask, and how the request must be made

A request can be made by an owner, a purchaser or a mortgagee of a unit, or an agent they have authorized in writing. The request is made using the prescribed Request for Records form, which the Condo Authority of Ontario makes available. On the form, the requester identifies the records they want, whether they want to examine them or receive copies, and whether they want paper or electronic copies.

The regulation also expects the request to relate to the requester's interests as an owner, purchaser or mortgagee, having regard to the purposes of the Act. That is not a licence for the board to interrogate motives, but a request plainly made for an unrelated purpose may give the board grounds to decline, ideally with legal advice.

Good practice for the board and its manager:

• Date-stamp every request on receipt. The 30-day clock starts when the corporation receives the request, so the manager should log the date it arrived, how it was delivered and who it came from.
• Confirm the requester's status. Check the record of owners and mortgagees, and for an agent, ask for the written authorization.
• Read the request precisely. "All emails about the garage" and "the garage repair contract" are very different requests. If a request is unclear, ask the requester to clarify early rather than guessing and missing the deadline.
• Redirect informal requests. If an owner emails asking for a document, a polite reply pointing them to the form (and attaching it) avoids later arguments about when a formal request began.

Core records versus non-core records

Ontario Regulation 48/01 divides records into two groups, and nearly every step that follows depends on which group a record falls into.

Core records are the documents an owner most commonly needs to understand the corporation's governance and finances. They include the declaration, by-laws and rules; the record of owners and mortgagees and the records of notices relating to leases of units; the current budget and the most recent approved financial statements and auditor's report; the most recent reserve fund study and plan for future funding; information certificates issued in the last 12 months; and minutes of owners' and board meetings held within the 12 months before the request. Minutes in particular are covered in more depth in our board meeting minutes guide.

Non-core records are everything else the corporation keeps that is subject to examination: contracts, invoices, correspondence, older minutes, engineering reports other than the reserve fund study, and so on.

The board's response within 30 days

Within 30 days of receiving a request, the corporation must respond using the prescribed Board's Response to Request for Records form. The response lists each record requested and, for each one, states:

• whether the corporation will allow the requester to examine it or receive a copy;
• whether it is a core or non-core record;
• whether any part will be redacted or withheld, the reason, and the provision of the Act relied on; and
• any fee and, for non-core records, how the estimate was calculated.

The form is completed by or on behalf of the board, which is why many boards delegate the routine work to their property manager while keeping decisions about refusals and redactions at the board table, with legal input where needed. If the board decides not to provide a record, the response must say so and explain why. Simply not replying is the worst option: it gives the owner a straightforward Tribunal case and removes any chance of the board explaining a legitimate exemption.

What the corporation can charge

Fees are one of the most frequent friction points, and the regulation is specific:

• Electronic core records: no fee.
• Paper core records: a reasonable fee covering only printing and photocopying, which cannot exceed 20 cents per page, plus the actual cost of delivery.
• Non-core records: a reasonable fee, based on a reasonable estimate of the labour, printing, photocopying and delivery costs to produce the record. The corporation must set out the estimate in its response, and the regulation limits how far the final charge can exceed it (no more than 10 per cent).

"Reasonable" is doing a lot of work. Boards should be able to show how labour hours were estimated, and should avoid charging owners for the time it takes to correct the corporation's own poor record-keeping.

Records excluded from examination

Section 55(4) of the Act excludes certain records from the owner's right to examine or copy:

• Employee records relating to employees of the corporation, except for contracts of employment between an employee and the corporation.
• Litigation and insurance investigation records: records relating to actual or contemplated litigation, as determined by the regulations, or to insurance investigations involving the corporation.
• Records relating to specific units or owners, other than records about the requester's own unit or about the requester as an owner. A neighbour's arrears ledger, leak report or complaint file is generally off-limits.
• Other records prescribed by the regulation.

Exemptions apply to the information, not automatically to the whole document. If a contract or set of minutes contains an exempt passage, the usual approach is to redact that passage and provide the rest, stating the reason and the provision relied on in the Board's Response form. Withholding an entire record because one paragraph is sensitive is a common mistake and hard to defend.

Records disputes at the Condominium Authority Tribunal

Records disputes under section 55 were the first category of cases the Condominium Authority Tribunal (CAT) could hear, and they remain one of its core areas. The CAT is an online tribunal run by the Condo Authority of Ontario. An owner, purchaser or mortgagee can apply when a request is ignored, refused, answered late or answered with fees or redactions they consider improper.

If the case reaches a decision, the Tribunal can order the corporation to provide records, award costs and compensation, and, where it finds the corporation refused to permit examination or provide copies without a reasonable excuse, order a penalty of up to $5,000 payable to the requester. CAT decisions are published, so a board's handling of a request can become public. Our guide to choosing between the CAT, mediation and arbitration explains the Tribunal's stages, fees and upcoming jurisdiction changes.

From the board's side, the strongest position at the Tribunal is usually a documented one: the request log, a Board's Response delivered on time, clear reasons for every redaction, a transparent fee estimate and evidence the corporation actually keeps adequate records.

A practical records-request workflow for boards

1. Receive and log. Record the date received and the requester, and confirm their status or agent authorization.
2. Clarify early. If the scope is unclear, ask in writing within the first few days.
3. Locate and classify. Find each record and mark it core or non-core.
4. Review for exemptions. Identify any passages that fall within section 55(4) and prepare redactions with reasons. Escalate privilege or litigation questions to counsel.
5. Estimate fees. Apply the core record rules; for non-core records, document the labour and copying estimate.
6. Respond on the prescribed form within 30 days of receipt.
7. Deliver. Provide core records within the deadline and non-core records within 30 days of payment, or arrange examination.
8. Close the file. Keep the request, response, proof of delivery and any correspondence together.

The workflow only works if the underlying records are organized. A corporation that keeps its governing documents, financial records and contracts in a consistent structure, and that prepares minutes with redaction in mind, can answer most core record requests in a fraction of the time allowed. Where documents themselves are the question, for example which document governs a particular use, our explainer on the declaration versus the by-laws and rules can help.

How professional management helps

Brilliant Property Management has supported Ontario condo boards since 2002. A professional manager keeps the corporation's records organized and retrievable, logs requests on receipt, tracks the 30-day deadline, prepares draft Board's Response forms and redaction notes for the board's review, applies the regulation's fee limits consistently, and flags requests that need legal input before a deadline is missed. If your board wants a more dependable records process, learn more about our condo property management in Toronto, review our full services, or invite us to respond through our request for proposal page.

Frequently asked questions

How long does an Ontario condo board have to respond to a records request?

The board must respond within 30 days of receiving the request, using the prescribed Board's Response to Request for Records form. The response says whether each record will be provided, whether it is a core or non-core record, any parts that will be redacted and why, and any fee. Core records are generally provided within that same 30-day window; non-core records are delivered within 30 days after the requester pays the fee set out in the response.

Can a condo corporation charge owners for records?

It depends on the record. A core record delivered electronically must be provided at no charge. Paper copies of core records can carry only a reasonable fee for printing and photocopying, capped at 20 cents per page, plus actual delivery costs. For non-core records, the corporation can charge a reasonable fee based on its estimate of labour, copying and delivery costs, and the regulation limits how far the final charge can exceed that estimate.

What condo records can a board refuse to provide?

Section 55(4) of the Condominium Act, 1998 excludes records relating to employees of the corporation (other than their employment contracts), records relating to actual or contemplated litigation or insurance investigations involving the corporation, records relating to specific units or owners other than the requester's own, and other records prescribed by regulation. Where only part of a record is exempt, the board redacts that part and explains the reason in its response rather than withholding the whole record.

What happens if a condo corporation ignores a records request?

The requester can apply to the Condominium Authority Tribunal (CAT), the online tribunal run by the Condo Authority of Ontario. The CAT can order the corporation to provide the records, award costs and compensation, and order a penalty of up to $5,000 if it finds the corporation refused to permit examination or provide copies without a reasonable excuse.

Do owners have to use the official Request for Records form?

Yes. Under Ontario Regulation 48/01, an owner, purchaser or mortgagee (or their authorized agent) requests records using the prescribed Request for Records form, available from the Condo Authority of Ontario. A corporation should still treat informal written requests with courtesy, and can point the owner to the form so the request starts the formal process cleanly.

This article is general information about records requests under the Condominium Act, 1998 and Ontario Regulation 48/01 and is not legal advice. The Act, its regulations, the prescribed forms and the Tribunal's jurisdiction change from time to time. Consult your condominium lawyer before refusing, redacting or charging for a record.