About Harwood
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The creation of a condominium corporation in Ontario is regulated by provincial condominium legislation (the Condominium Act, 1998) and municipal guidelines. The operation of condominiums is also governed by the Condominium Act, 1998, and the condominium corporation’s own Declaration, By-laws and Rules.
Once a condominium corporation has been established, a Board of Directors takes responsibility for the management of the corporation’s business affairs.
Board of Directors
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As a rule, the Board of Directors is elected by unit owners to act on their behalf in making the decisions required for the day-to-day operation of the condominium. This includes directing the property manager, and overseeing the results of such directives. Decisions of the Board are made in good faith, with the best interests of the corporation (i.e. all owners) in mind.
Our Board of Directors consists of five directors and includes the offices of President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and one Director at Large. In order to conduct the business of the corporation at least three Directors are required to be present at Board meetings, which are usually held once a month. The President of the corporation, if present, chairs the meeting. In the case of his/her absence, the Vice President acts on his/her behalf. Depending on the time of year, meeting agenda items may vary from winter maintenance to the opening of the swimming pool. From the discussions, recommendations, and decisions arising from Board meetings, the Property Manager is then instructed to carry out the necessary tasks.
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The position of Director is a voluntary one and is not remunerated in any way. The election of Directors takes place at the Annual General Meeting; usually held in the spring each year. Directors are elected for a two-year term, with the terms staggered in order to allow continuity on the Board from year to year.
Property Management
The Property Manager is the workforce of the corporation. Under the direction of our Board, he/she assumes the responsibility for ensuring that all the necessary duties that are important to the corporation are carried out in a manner suitable to the smooth operation of Harwood. These duties may include anything from organizing our Annual General Meeting, preparing monthly financial statements, to the installation of extra parking signs. The Property Manager attends Board meetings to report on past directives, answer questions, make recommendations, and to take future directives from the Board.
All residents should be familiar with the Property Manager’s office telephone number and emergency number, and should direct all questions, complaints, problems, requests and recommendations to the Property Manager. In the case of non-emergencies written communications are preferable; either via email or through correspondence placed in the Recreation Centre mail slot. Please remember to identify yourself on written correspondence as the corporation can only respond to queries when the requestor is identifiable.
Common Fees
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Every month each unit owner pays an amount to the corporation that is commonly known as “condominium fees”, or “condo fees”. This amount is more precisely an “Assessment of Common Expenses”. This monthly assessment or charge is determined as described below.
Each fall, the Board of Directors prepares/approves an annual budget for the following year. This budget is to cover all expenses, charges and costs of running the corporation on a day-to-day basis; i.e. hydro, water, grounds maintenance, snow removal, insurance, legal and audit services, swimming pool operation, etc. In addition to these costs, the corporation is required by the Condominium Act, 1998, to establish and maintain a Reserve Fund. A Reserve Fund contains amounts that are set aside to be used solely for the major repair and replacement of the common elements; including such activities as paving, roofing, window replacement, and so on.
In summary, your monthly common charges are composed of two amounts: first, an amount used to pay day-to-day operating expenses, and second, an amount used to maintain the Reserve Fund. A certain percentage of these anticipated costs is allocated to each unit owner as a monthly charge, based on a schedule set up in the Declaration at the time the corporation was created.
Repair and Maintenance of Common Elements
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The term “common element” may be loosely defined as everything outside of the interior of the unit, for which the corporation will perform necessary repair, maintenance and replacement activities. However, owners are required to clear snow and ice from their front paths and driveways, and are expected to perform certain other maintenance responsibilities as documented in the Governing Documents and Rules section of this website.
Insurance
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The corporation has fire and all risk coverage insurance on more than just the common elements. Its coverage also includes the “Standard Unit” as described in our By-law # 8 found in the Governing Documents and Rules section of this website. Owners should familiarize themselves with the standard unit description, as they must provide their own insurance for items not covered by this description, such as flooring and finished basements. Individual unit owners need also insure their personal belongings and any improvements or additions made to their homes by themselves or any previous owners. They should also obtain personal liability insurance together with coverage for window and door glass breakage.