Consultations
Condominium Act Regulations
Draft regulations have been prepared pursuant to the Condominium Act. These are the first regulations pursuant to the Act, and they have been drafted to provide additional detail for the recent amendments to the Condominium Act. The main items dealt with in the regulations are amalgamations, sale of units by developers, disclosure of information by the condominium corporation, capital reserve funds and the administration of funds by the condominium corporation. Although the recent amendments to the Condominium Act also provide for phased developments, that subject will be dealt with in separate regulations.
Amalgamations are a new feature of the Condominium Act and provide a means whereby condominiums can share common facilities or property management. The regulations ensure that adequate disclosure of information is provided to owners and encumbrance holders as well as prescribing registration requirements. When condominium corporations are proposing to amalgamate and a meeting of the owners and encumbrance holders is called, the Act and Regulations ensure that all of the information necessary for the purposes of making an informed decision is provided to those owners and encumbrance holders.
In regard to the sale of units by a developer, the regulations prescribe additional disclosure requirements for the developer. These include a clear statement of a purchaser’s right to rescind the purchase agreement, as well as the information that must be provided by a developer when the units and common elements are not substantially completed at the time the purchase agreement is entered into.
Further disclosure requirements prescribed by the regulations are for requests for information directed to the condominium corporation. These include by-law amendments and resolutions that are not yet registered with the Land Titles Office as well as budgets and financial statements prepared by the condominium corporation.
The bylaws of most condominium corporations already provide for a capital reserve fund. However, the amendments to the Condominium Act make the establishment and maintenance of a capital reserve fund, as well as the preparation of a capital reserve fund study, mandatory for condominium corporations. The regulations prescribe who is a qualified person for the purposes of conducting a capital reserve fund study for a condominium corporation. They also provide that a study may be conducted by one person or by several persons, each of whom is qualified in respect of a particular component of the condominium. Additional items (to those in the Act) which must be included in a capital reserve fund study report are also prescribed in the regulations.
The regulations also provide that a condominium corporation may carry out the functions of a qualified person where the condominium has fewer than 13 units. This allows smaller condominium corporations to conduct their own reserve fund study. If a condominium corporation has fewer than 7 units, the regulations provide that the corporation may be exempt from the requirement to conduct a capital reserve fund study. Where all of the units in a condominium corporation are owned by the same owner, the corporation is exempt from the requirement to conduct a reserve fund study until such time as the owner offers the units for sale.
In regard to the administration of funds, the regulations prescribe the types of investments into which funds from the capital reserve fund or other funds can be invested, to ensure that the funds are in secure investments. The list of possible investments is extensive, but the investments are all conservative investments which provide security of the principal. The regulations also prescribe the information that must be contained in the annual operating budget and the annual financial statement of a condominium corporation.
Finally, the regulations prescribe the maximum amount of interest that can be charged by the condominium corporation on unpaid contributions by an owner.
We would appreciate any specific or general comments that you may have in regard to the consultation draft by August 19, 2008. If you find that this period of time is insufficient, please let us know. Those who wish to discuss the proposed amendments are welcome to contact either Thomas Hall, the Registrar of Land Titles and Personal Property or Gary MacDougall, the Director of Legal Registries, with any questions or comments at 873-7490, or by email at Tom_Hall@gov.nt.ca or Gary_MacDougall@gov.nt.ca.
Draft regulations
Recent amendments to the Act
For more information, contact:
Tom Hall
Registrar of Land Titles and Personal Property
Department of Justice
Tel: (867) 873-7490
