Governance & Board Conduct
Governance Dispute / Large Capital Project OversightA 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. This raises questions about oversight, not settled conclusions about wrongdoing.
Owners in a mid-size Ontario condo corporation described a change in board composition roughly a decade ago, after which maintenance fees rose significantly and special assessments became a near-annual occurrence. By one owner's account, assessments applied in most years across a roughly eight-year span. Combined with maintenance fees, some owners reported total monthly housing costs reaching well above what they'd budgeted for.
Over that period, the corporation undertook three large capital projects: balcony work, a pool and hot tub renovation, and a major garage restoration approved at a cost in the range of $11 to $12 million after a structural engineering consultant's report described the garage as approaching the end of its expected service life. Owners raised concerns about the contractors' qualifications and about cost oversight on these projects, though this account could not independently verify those specific claims. Owners also reported that requests for in-person requisitioned meetings were repeatedly declined in favour of more limited virtual sessions.
This case is presented for its general pattern, not as a verified account of any specific company's conduct. A run of large, sequential capital projects combined with limited in-person owner meetings is exactly the situation where the reserve fund study, competitive tendering records, and requisitioned-meeting rights described elsewhere in this guide library become the practical tools for getting clarity.
Documents an owner in this situation should gather
- Reserve fund studies from before and after the board composition changed
- AGM and board minutes covering the years in question
- The engineering or condition assessment reports behind each major capital project
- Special assessment notices and the board resolutions approving them
- Any requisitioned-meeting request correspondence and the corporation's response
Questions to ask management or the board
- 1What did the reserve fund study recommend for these components before each project was approved, and how did actual costs compare?
- 2What tendering or competitive-bid process was used to select each contractor?
- 3Why were in-person requisitioned meetings declined in favour of restricted virtual sessions, and what governs that decision?
- 4Can complete minutes and vote records for each special assessment approval be provided to owners on request?
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Curated and maintained by Alexander Baraz, Condo Owner Advocate.
This case is not a testimonial, review, or endorsement, and is not a Condo Owner Advocate client file. It is an anonymized, editorially rewritten educational illustration, not legal advice.