The Condominium Property Act will be updated on July 1 in an attempt to better protect homeowners.
On Monday, CTV News reported Gurdial Jassal’s ordeal with Helm Property Management. The homeowner said he received a $250 fine, without warning or proof, after his tenant allegedly left garbage outside the property. The company added a 1.5 per cent monthly interest to the fine, charged him lawyer fees, and recently fined him a second time for the same reason.
Helm Property Management then placed a caveat on his property and his bank paid out the nearly $800 in full.
“We have heard about condo boards that are perhaps enthusiastic in their fining of their condo owners,” Service Alberta Minister Brian Malkinson told CTV News.
Malkinson believes changes to the Condominium Property Act will help owners. Starting July 1, condo boards will have to offer a detailed notice to the person believed to have broken a rule, and give them three days to fix the issue, or respond, before a fine is issued.
The updated act will also dictate how much money condo boards can issue per fine: $200 for first-time offenders and $500 for recurring penalties.
Property management companies will also have to give a 60-day notice before Annual General Meetings (AGMs) and an opportunity for homeowners to propose agenda items.
Shelly MacMillan, director at Condo Owners Council of Alberta (COCOA), supports some of the changes but says a big piece is missing. She adamantly believes the government should mandate education for condo owners on boards.
“There’s no qualification to be a board member.”
Malkinson did not rule out that suggestion for the future. A dispute resolution service is currently in the works for homeowners and condo boards to work out their issues outside of court, starting as early as 2020.
“I think we have a good balance that’ll go a long way to help condos function properly and function with a high degree of transparency and will benefit the one in five Albertans that live in condos,” Malkinson said.
With files from CTV Edmonton’s Nicole Weisberg
