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Real Condo Cases
18 real Ontario condo situations, explained.
Two kinds of real situations, always clearly labelled.
2 published. Owners who worked directly with Condo Owner Advocate. Identifying details removed.
16 published. Real situations shared publicly by Ontario condo owners. Not COA clients or casework.
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Special Assessments & Reserve Funds
A $28,000 Special Assessment for Porch Repairs
A large per-unit special assessment, tied to years of deferred maintenance, raised the question of what owners can actually check before accepting the bill.
Community SituationReserve Fund Spending PrioritiesWhen the Reserve Fund Pays for the Wrong Things First
A window replacement tied to mould and failing seals stayed deferred while cosmetic work and a large structural repair went ahead, leaving the owner asking who decides what the reserve fund pays for first.
Chargebacks & Unexpected Fees
An $890 Bill for an After-Hours Check the Owner Never Requested
A brief weekend call to ask about a neighbouring unit turned into an $890 chargeback for a service visit the owner says was never authorized.
Community SituationLegal Fees, Liens & Collection EscalationA Small Waste-Sorting Fine That Grew Into a Lien Demand
A minor waste-sorting infraction, after legal and administrative fees were added, turned into a lien demand many times its original size, with a short countdown to power-of-sale proceedings attached.
Community SituationChargeback / Recharged Legal FeesWhen Your Tenant's Dispute Becomes Your Legal Bill
A landlord-owner reported thousands of dollars in the corporation's legal fees recharged to their unit account after correspondence about their tenant's conflicts with the board was routed to the corporation's lawyers.
Common Element & Maintenance Disputes
An Exclusive-Use Parking Spot Left Unshovelled for Days
A compacted, icy parking space raised a narrower question than it first appears: whose job is snow removal, on paper, in this building?
Community SituationCommon Element Failure / Health & SafetyWeeks Without Hot Water in a High-Rise
A building-wide mechanical failure left units without hot water for weeks, with unclear timelines and no compensation discussion, until public health and regulator contact entered the picture.
COA Client CaseCAT Jurisdiction / Forum ChoiceChoosing the Right Forum for a Garage-Door Nuisance Dispute
A recurring garage-door nuisance problem meant deciding between the Condominium Authority Tribunal and Small Claims Court.
Community SituationRepairs, Maintenance & Responsibility DisputesRepeated Winter Safety Complaints That Never Seemed to Reach the Board
A recurring snow-and-ice hazard went unaddressed for years despite repeated emails to the property manager, and the owner began to doubt the concerns were reaching the board at all.
Noise & Neighbour Conflicts
Documenting a Sudden Noise Problem After Ten Quiet Years
New, recurring noise from a long-quiet neighbouring unit exposed how hard it is to prove noise, and how little support an unhelpful property manager may offer.
Community SituationNoise Complaint / Rules EnforcementA Toddler's Footsteps, a Flooring Demand, and a Neighbour on the Board
A young family faced a costly flooring and underpad replacement demand over normal footstep noise, with the added complication that the complaining neighbour also sits on the board.
Alterations & Legal Letters
Meetings, Records & Management Accountability
A Simple Quorum Question, Weeks of Silence
Multiple owners asked whether quorum was met at a recent meeting.
COA Client CaseRecords Request / Fee DisputeWhen a Board Charges You to Photocopy Your Own Records
An owner's complete statutory records request was mostly approved, but the board refused the AGM video outright and charged a fee for proxies that were already available electronically.
Community SituationRecords, Financial Transparency & AGM AccessNo Audited Financials, No AGM, and a Pending Assessment
Nearly a year after a management-company change, audited financial statements still hadn't been produced, no AGM had been held, and a special assessment was described as pending, already affecting a unit sale.
Governance & Board Conduct
A Board Change, Years of Special Assessments, and Three Large Capital Projects
A change in board composition preceded years of rising fees, repeated special assessments, and several large capital projects.
Community SituationBoard Removal / Governance ConflictDirectors Removed at an AGM, Followed by Litigation
Two directors were removed by owner vote, and litigation involving parties connected to the dispute followed.
Community SituationBoard & Property-Manager Conduct / GovernanceWhen the Board's Dysfunction Is Aimed at Its Own Directors
An absentee-landlord voting bloc allegedly controlled the board and, in one member's account, intimidated the minority of directors who actually lived in the building, while ignoring the reserve fund study.