Chapter 5: Records

• Pages: 119-148
• Author: Robert Mullin

119

CHA PTER 5

RECORDS

1 INTRODUCTION

[1] Condominium records may appear a steri le topic. In contrast, re-

cords take centre-stage in many condominium disputes. In 2017, On-

tario delegated the oversight of record disputes to t he Condominium

Authority Tribunal, or “CAT.” From 2018 to the end of 2024, the CAT

provided 257 rulings on records, with m any decisions in excess of

twenty (20) pages.1 In contrast, Ontario’s Auditor General totaled only

328 reported Superior Court of Ontario condominium decisions be-

tween 1967 and 2020.2 Records can spark significant litigation. Fur ther,

record requests are often the symptom of deeper governance problems,

with unit owners contesti ng the decisions of a condominium’s board.

The CAT has held:

It would be the unusual ca se where a condominium unit owner ’s re-

quest for records under the Condominium Act, 1998, is not motivated

by dissati sfaction with iss ues relating to the govern ance or manage-

1 Statistic s collected as of April 1, 2024.

2 Oce of the Auditor Gener al of Ontario, Value for Money: Condominium Over-

sight in Ontario (2020) at 47.

CONDOMINIUM LAW IN ONTAR IO

120

ment of the condominium or some other ongoing di spute or antag-

onistic re lationship w ith the condominium’s boa rd or management.3

[2] With th at, the practitioner should understand, with clarity, a condo-

minium’s duty to create, retain, and produce condominium records. The

overarching goal should be the formation of a lasting resource for the

condominium, but, at minimum, the desire to avoid time-con suming

and costly litigation.

[3] Condominium records ca n span a number of documents, in-

cluding financial record s, minutes, correspondence, contracts, legal

opinions, and engineering reports. Regrettably, Ontario’s Condominium

Act, 1998 (the “Act”), does not define a record.4 However, the CAT has

adopted the definition from the Oxford English Dictionary, holding that

a record includes: “a thing constituting a piece of evidence about the

past, especia lly an account kept in writing or some other perm anent

fo rm .”5

[4] The creation, mai ntenance, and production of these documents

serve a condominium in several ways. First, they form a historical ac-

count of the condominium’s matters. With board members and prop-

erty managers a lways in transition, records preserve a condominium’s

institutional knowledge. Second, records provide clea r evidence of

due diligence being performed, or the lack t hereof. Successor boards

may question previous decisions; board s who have carefully fulfilled

and documented their actions may be shielded from re-consideration.

Third, records also ser ve as a primary re source to the condominium.

Built-form illustrations or serv icing diagrams are integral for the e-

cient maintenance and repair of t he condominium’s physical structure.

Fourth, condominium records allow the fulfillment of what the courts

have described as t he “Transparency Principle” between a condomin-

ium and a unit owner,6 oering a direct conduit of information to the

3 Martynenko v Peel Stan dard Condominium Corp No 935, 2021 ONCAT 125 at para

1 [Martynenko]. See also Sava v York Condominium Cor p No 386, 2024 ONCAT 35

at para 4 [Sava 2024]; Akella v Durha m Condominium Corp No 27, 2024 ONCAT

40 at para 2 [Akella]; Richards v Peel Condominium Corp No 27, 2024 ONCAT 62

at para 7; Sharma v Toronto Standard Condominiu m Cooperation No 2510, 2024

ONCAT 118 at para 42; Puxty v Frontenac Cond ominium Corp No 57, 2024

ONCAT 122 at para 4 [Puxty].

4 SO 1998, c 19 [Condo Act]; Bogue v Carleton Condominium Corp No 28 8, 2024

ONCAT 141 at para 6 [Bogu e II].

5 Slee v Peel Condominium Corp No 110, 2023 ONCAT 40 at para 11 [Slee 1].

6 Lahrkamp v Metro Toronto Condominium Corp No 932, 2017 CanLII 74184 at para

31 (ONSC) [Lahrkamp].