Last summer, there were proposed changes to the 15-year old Condominium Act of Ontario, which were sent to review by the government, industry officials and condo owner representatives. Among other things, the newly revamped Act required all condos to hire qualified managers as caretakers of the property. Since condo life mainly revolves around the person who is in charge of the building, it was becoming increasingly necessary that to ensure a good quality of life, the person behind the job was someone who knew how to do it well.
Up until now, most managers were hired out of referral, and didn’t require much expertise in the field. But as condo life become more popular, with almost 50% of new construction being condo housing, it is becoming evident that the job can no longer be filled at whim. Since condo dwellers are expecting a certain quality of life, these demands need to be met by those who can comfortable provide it. Increasing number of amenities and growing condo population can’t be handed over to people unless they are experienced in management skills and know how to operate large scale housing.
The Condominium Act comes up for review again this summer, leading to the important decision of requiring all building managers to meet certain qualifications. This can be a sigh of relief for all those who are paying the price of condo life, but not getting what they bargained for.
The review is trying to structure a licensing requirement for all managers, listing out what the mandatory qualifications should be for the job. Currently there are many managers who are responsible for building worth hundreds of millions of dollars, but they don’t have a clue what they are doing. Will the new act leave them without a job? Or will there be a grace period to allow current managers to become accustomed to these new changes. Only time will tell how the new Condominium Act will affect those who work and those who live in the condos.
Up until now, most managers were hired out of referral, and didn’t require much expertise in the field. But as condo life become more popular, with almost 50% of new construction being condo housing, it is becoming evident that the job can no longer be filled at whim. Since condo dwellers are expecting a certain quality of life, these demands need to be met by those who can comfortable provide it. Increasing number of amenities and growing condo population can’t be handed over to people unless they are experienced in management skills and know how to operate large scale housing.
The Condominium Act comes up for review again this summer, leading to the important decision of requiring all building managers to meet certain qualifications. This can be a sigh of relief for all those who are paying the price of condo life, but not getting what they bargained for.
The review is trying to structure a licensing requirement for all managers, listing out what the mandatory qualifications should be for the job. Currently there are many managers who are responsible for building worth hundreds of millions of dollars, but they don’t have a clue what they are doing. Will the new act leave them without a job? Or will there be a grace period to allow current managers to become accustomed to these new changes. Only time will tell how the new Condominium Act will affect those who work and those who live in the condos.