Condo bill designed to fix leaky legislation

The Alberta government has released its new condo bill designed to fix the province’s leaky condominium legislation.

Bill 9, The Condominium Property Amendment Act, upgrades and modernizes the current legislation with more than 50 changes, said Service Alberta Minister Stephen Khan Tuesday morning.

“What this is about is increased consumer protection, establishing certainty for developers and enforcing consistency for condo boards,” Khan said.

“This will create a healthy and stable ecosystem for condo associations and for condo developers and for consumers.”

The amendments follow consultations with condo owners, builders and boards lasting more than a year, he said.

Khan said some of the changes include:

• Creating a framework for a new condominium dispute tribunal;
• Improving disclosure of financial and other necessary information to buyers of new and converted condominiums;
• Developing a framework for qualifications and standards of practice for condominium managers; and,
• Improving governance of condominium corporations.

Robert Noce, an Edmonton lawyer who specializes in condo law, says the amendments don’t go far enough, and in some cases don’t specify remedies for problems.

The government plans to add those details through future regulations, but Noce wants them written into law.

“Then, if it requires any amendments it has to be done on the floor of the legislature as opposed to amending a regulation which is done privately by way of cabinet order.”

More than 8,000 condominium corporations operate in the province while condominiums account for about 20 per cent of homes sold annually, the government said.