Two sections of the Condominium Act, 1998 do most of the work in condo compliance letters: section 117 and section 119. Directors cite them constantly and mix them up almost as often. The distinction matters, because it changes the urgency of the letter, the tone, and where the dispute goes if the owner does not comply. Here is what each section covers, in plain language, and how to use them correctly.
Section 117 has two parts that do different jobs.
Subsection 117(1) prohibits anyone from permitting a condition to exist, or carrying on an activity, in a unit or on the common elements if it is likely to damage the property or cause injury or illness to a person. This is the dangerous-conduct provision. A propane heater on a wooden balcony, hoarding that blocks a unit’s exits, an unauthorized renovation that cuts into a load bearing wall: these are 117(1) matters.
Subsection 117(2) prohibits unreasonable noise and other nuisances, annoyances and disruptions prescribed by regulation, which include unreasonable odour, smoke, vapour, light and vibration. A subwoofer at 2 a.m. and cigarette smoke migrating through a wall are 117(2) matters.
Section 119 is broader and quieter. It requires the corporation, every owner and every occupier of a unit to comply with the Act, the declaration, the by-laws and the rules. Almost every ordinary rule breach is a section 119 matter: balcony storage, unauthorized pets, parking in a visitor space, short-term rentals where the rules prohibit them. When your letter cites the corporation’s own rule, section 119 is the statutory hook that makes that rule binding on the owner.
Match the letter to the section, and the tone to the risk:
One letter can cite more than one section. A dog that both exceeds the rule’s weight limit and bites a resident engages section 119 and section 117(1) at once. Cite both.
Ontario condo corporations do not have the power to impose free-standing fines on owners, and a letter that threatens one weakens the board’s position. What the Act and a properly drafted declaration allow is recovery of the corporation’s actual costs of obtaining compliance, through the declaration’s indemnification provisions. The honest sentence for your letter is this: costs the corporation incurs to obtain compliance may be recoverable from the owner under the indemnification provisions of the declaration. It is less dramatic than a fine. It is also enforceable.
Most owners comply after one letter. For the rest, the path depends on the issue:
Every route rewards the same preparation: dated letters citing the right section, proof of delivery, and a timeline showing the board escalated in measured steps. Write each letter as the future exhibit it may become, and the escalation path, whichever one applies, starts from strength.
A compliance letter only helps the corporation if the corporation can produce it later, with proof it was delivered. File every letter with the date it was sent, the delivery record, the photos or complaint that prompted it, and any response from the owner. Section 55 of the Act requires the corporation to keep adequate records, and a compliance file is exactly the kind of record a future board, a buyer’s lawyer reviewing a status certificate, or a Tribunal member may ask to see. A board that can produce 3 dated letters and 3 delivery records has a case. A board that remembers sending them has a problem.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Confirm the specifics of your situation with a condo lawyer or the Condominium Authority of Ontario (CAO).
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