Under the Condominium Property Act, the powers and duties of the condo corporation must be carried out by a board of directors (i.e., condo board), elected by the unit owners of the condominium.
In Alberta, at least 60% of the members on a condo board must be unit owners or mortgage lenders of the condo corporation. Under the Condominium Property Act, members of the board, in exercising their duties as members of the board, must:
Once a condo board has been established, regular elections for the board usually take place at the Annual General Meetings (AGM) of the condo corporation. Board matters, such as who can run for and sit on the condo board, the length of the terms of service, the nominations process etc., can be different for each condo corporation. Matters specific to the condo corporation are set out in the condo’s registered bylaws.
Please see Interim Condo Board and Electing the First Condo Board sections for more information on the process for establishing a condo board.
Condo boards can choose to fulfill these duties themselves—self-manage—or they can hire a licensed condominium manager to manage the property on their behalf. Condominium management companies must be licensed under the Real Estate Act as a condominium manager brokerage and must be operated by a licensed condominium manager broker.
Regardless of whether a condo manager is hired to assist the condo board with their duties, the condo board must understand the role that the condo manager plays, the relationship between the condo board and condo manager, as well as the extent and significance of the contract with the condo manager.
Disputes may arise between members on a condo board, or between the condo board and other parties involved in the business of the condo corporation, such as:
While it’s not uncommon for disputes to arise, it is important for them to be resolved quickly and effectively. It is always recommended that condo board seek legal advice when faced with a dispute.
Within a month of registering the development as a condominium corporation, the developer must appoint an interim board of directors to run the corporation during the construction and sale phase. This interim board must follow the same standards of conduct as an elected board for running a condominium corporation.
Under the Condominium Property Act, the developer must convene a meeting to elect the first board of directors within 90 days of the certificates of title being issued in the name of the purchasing owners for units representing 50% of unit factors.
If the developer does not convene a meeting within the 90-day period, a unit owner may convene a meeting to elect the first board of directors of the corporation.
At this meeting, the developer, or interim board, must provide originals or copies of the following documents (if applicable), at no charge to the corporation:
In addition, the developer, or interim board, must provide the elected board with copies of:
Additionally, in the case of a conversion, the developer must provide the elected board with the converted property study or building assessment report.
See the Condominium Property Act s.16.1(1) and the Condominium Property Regulation s.20.2(1) for more information on documentation and information that must be provided to the first elected board by the developer or interim board.