Update on the Protecting Condominium Owners Act, 2015

As some of you may recall, the Condominium Act, 1998, was significantly amended by new legislation called the Protecting Condominium Owners Act, 2015. The changes were implemented in phases starting in 2017 with the creation of the Condominium Authority of Ontario (CAO), the Condominium Authority Tribunal (CAT), and the Condominium Management Regulatory Authority of Ontario (CMRAO). There were also changes made to the prescribed forms (such as the new proxy, information certificates, and notices of meetings). Between 2020 and 2024, further amendments were made to require the “Condominium Guide” be delivered to purchasers by the declarant, to allow for virtual meetings and electronic voting, and for the CAT to have jurisdiction over nuisances.  

The Protecting Condominium Owners Act, 2015, was a significant change in the industry, but many of the provisions never came into force. What changes never came into force? Here are some of the key ones:

• Shared Facilities Agreements - It was going to be mandatory for condominiums to have shared facilities agreements where they shared the use, maintenance, repair, and operation of property, assets, or services.
• Procurement Process – The regulations were going to require a procurement process for contracts and transactions involving condominiums.
• Requisition Meetings – There was going to be a new process for requisition meetings with prescribed forms, timelines for the condominium to reply, and the CAT was going to hear disputes about meetings.
• Owner occupied – The owner-occupied voting position was to be renamed the “non-leased voting unit” position and it would only be required if a minority of the units were occupied.
• Annual budgets – The regulations were going to describe a process for creating the budget and distributing it to the owners.
• Indemnification by owners – The Act and regulations were going to create a process to complete “chargebacks” to owners, including a prescribed form for notifying them.
• Insurance – a standard unit was going to be described in the regulations for those condominiums unable to pass standard unit by-law.
• Additions, alterations, and improvements – The process for making changes to the common elements was going to get a shake-up so it would require the board of directors to consider if the change would cause a material reduction in the use or enjoyment of the property by owners.

Last year, the Ontario government was considering bringing into force some of the remaining provisions in the Protecting Condominium Owners Act, 2015, related to meetings, such as creating a new prescribed requisition process and changing the often-misunderstood owner-occupied position. It was also considering expanding the CAT’s jurisdiction to include disputes about meetings, including the notices of meeting, quorum for meetings, and voting at meetings. We haven’t heard much since the public consultation in early 2025, but speculation is that most people who responded did not support the proposed changes related to meetings.

On December 11, 2025, Bill 72 (Buy Ontario Act, 2025) received Royal Assent, extending the time for some of the remaining provisions in the Protecting Condominium Owners Act, 2015, to come into force. Many of the provisions extended relate to the following issues:

• Mandatory shared facilities agreements and related issues.
• Replacement of the owner-occupied position with the non-leased voting unit position.
• More disclosure obligations and greater protections from declarants.
• A new requisition process.
• Modifications to a few prescribed forms.

Interestingly, many provisions were not extended, including those involving indemnification by owners (chargebacks), standard unit by-laws, annual budgets, procurement, and changes to the common elements by condominiums. It is a shame that some of these were not included as some had the potential to help resolve many common disputes in condominiums.  

Bill 72 gives the Ontario government until January 1, 2027, to determine what, if any, of the remaining provisions in the Protecting Condominium Owners Act, 2015, it wishes to bring into force. It will be interesting to see what happens over the next eleven months.