Self-managed condos
Running a condo without a property manager
In a self-managed condo, the elected board does the management work itself. Here is what that involves, where it tends to go wrong, and the rules in Alberta and Ontario.
What self-management means
Every condo corporation is run by its board. In a managed building, the board hires a company for the day-to-day work: collecting fees, booking contractors, keeping records, answering owners. In a self-managed building, board members do that work themselves, usually as volunteers.
Some boards take a middle path. They hire an accountant for the books, or a manager for a few hours a month, and handle the rest.
The job
What the board takes on
- Maintenance
- Knowing what the building has, what each part needs, and booking the work before it fails.
- The reserve fund
- Commissioning the study, following its plan, and setting contributions.
- Contractors
- Getting comparable quotes, choosing one, and keeping what was agreed.
- Records
- Minutes, bylaws, insurance, warranties and invoices, kept where the next board can find them.
- Owners
- An accurate owner list, notices sent on time, and answers to requests.
The risks
Where it tends to go wrong
Directors serve a few years and leave. What they knew about the building leaves with them unless someone wrote it down where the next board will look.
Maintenance drifts. A gutter cleaning missed once rarely matters, but missed three years running it turns into a repair the reserve fund did not plan for.
Documents end up in personal inboxes, so when an insurer or a buyer asks for one, someone spends an evening searching.
By province
The rules that apply
Alberta
- Governed by the Condominium Property Act and its regulations.
- A reserve fund study at least every five years, with a reserve fund plan based on it.
- Paid condo managers are licensed by the Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA).
Sources: Condominium Property Act · RECA
Ontario
- Governed by the Condominium Act, 1998.
- New directors must complete the Condominium Authority of Ontario's free training within six months.
- A reserve fund study every three years.
- Paid condo managers are licensed by the CMRAO.
Sources: Condominium Act, 1998 · CAO · CMRAO
Common questions
- Can a condo be run without a property manager?
- Yes. In Alberta and Ontario a condo corporation can be managed by its own board. The board is responsible for the work either way. A manager only carries it out on the board's behalf.
- Do board members need a licence to self-manage?
- Generally not, when they manage their own corporation as volunteers. Licensing applies to people paid to provide condo management services. Check with RECA or the CMRAO if anyone on the board is paid.
- What size of building suits self-management?
- It is most common in corporations under about 50 units, where volunteers can manage the work and a manager's fee would be a large share of the budget.
- What is the biggest risk?
- Losing track. Most problems start with a missing record: maintenance that slipped a season, a reserve fund study nobody booked, or a warranty that left with a past director.
Keep the building in one place
HearthlyOS gives a self-managed board one record of its building: maintenance, owners, assets, tasks and history. We are opening it to a small group of Alberta boards first.