Condominium Documents

The Condominium Act is just one of several layers of rules and condominium documents that govern a condominium. The hierarchy looks something like this:

Condominium Act  >> Declaration  >>  By-Laws  >>  Rules  >>  Procedures

The Condominium Act is an Ontario Law, and lays out the creation, governance, and other aspects of a condominium. The Condominium Act can only be changed by the Ontario Legislature. Regulations under the act are slightly easier to change, but cannot be done by any individual condominium.

The Declaration is specific to each building, and lays out items like the type of condominium, the percent ownership of each unit and the boundaries of the unit. The Declaration can be changed with a vote of over 80% of the owners for some items, and over 90% for other items.

The By-laws are specific to each building, and can be pass by a vote of the owners. These can cover topics like borrowing, defining the unit with respect to insurance coverage, general governance, and a host of other internal affairs.

The Rules are meant to keep order in the building, and include the more day-to-day items like pet restrictions, use of the visitor parking lot, and moving hours. A rule change can be passed by the Board of Directors, as long as notice goes out to all owners, and the owners are given the right to object.

Procedures are simple day-to-day items that do not require the owner’s involvement, like changing the office hours, or the temperature of the pool.

In addition to the governing documents listed above, there are several other very important documents that a condominium should possess, such as:

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