Condominium Management Contracts
Ms Blakeman: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. The Condominium Property Act is heavily slanted toward the start-up of newer conversion condos but contains little for the ongoing problems long after the developer has gone. My constituents, some of whom are in the gallery today, are being left in untenable positions by large management companies who take fees from the condo boards but do not do the work, leaving the boards and the owners on the hook. To the Minister of Service Alberta: why is there no assistance available under the condo act to these condo boards who cannot get the work, including producing financial reports from the management companies that they contract with?
The Speaker: The hon. minister.
Mrs. Klimchuk: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is indeed a very serious situation, and I appreciate this question. With respect to some of the issues that have been raised through Service Alberta under the Residential Tenancies Act, there’s certainly a number of things that we can do to support consumers and help them when they are faced by this situation, whether it’s management fees or the work not being done. That’s what has been made clear to me in some of the correspondence that I’ve handled.
Ms Blakeman: That was a non-answer. Back to the same minister. Given that the government offers others, like a renter rights and protections, or shareholder investors’ rights and protections, why is there no section in the legislation which steps in to protect people who own condos when they are taken advantage of by property management companies?
The Speaker: The hon. minister.
Mrs. Klimchuk: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Well, under the Condominium Property Act we are constantly looking and reviewing just to make sure the legislation is up-to-date and pertinent to the situation and challenges that Albertans are facing right now, with respect to condos not being attended to and some of the things that we need to look at. If there’s a particular situation that I need to aware of, I’d be more than happy to look into it.
The Speaker: The hon. member.
Ms Blakeman: Thank you. Back to the same minister. What is happening here, Mr. Speaker, is that the little guy, the condo owner, and their board is expected to duke it out in court with large, national property management companies with unlimited resources. How is that fair? Why can’t the government protect these individual owners and their boards as part of the Condominium Property Act?
The Speaker: The hon. minister.
Mrs. Klimchuk: Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, I will reiterate that with respect to changes or things that we need to look at under that act, we have to make sure that these changes are forceful and effective. If indeed there are consumers that have situations, I need to be aware of those because I am aware of some situations that are going on, and we are currently looking at the legislation as we speak.
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