[CCI Admin]

It’s interesting to me that despite the significant comments above, no one has actually said how their condo verifies age. What documentation is requested and noted? What are condos currently accepting as “satisfactory proof of age”? What documentation is a condo corporation permitted to request under privacy legislation? My feeling is that we need legal advice on this matter.

Donna S on March 19 2018 at 01:33 PM

[CCI Admin]

Aw, come on guys. Take a look at your driver’s license. Date of birth is verified with photo ID. You note down the license number, and it’s end of discussion.

The spouse of a qualifying 55+ buyer is in, no matter what his or her age (but presumably over 15 to make the “spouse” thing legal)

If the buyer doesn’t have a driver’s license, then a passport or a Nexus card provides highly official verification including photo ID.

There’s no need here to take a prospective buyer’s toe nail clippings to the university labs for carbon dating.

If your condo corp is having its bylaws amended with respect to a +55 provision, I would soften the wording to allow a purchase to proceed for buyers who are within a certain number of months, or possibly a year or two, of their 55th birthday. As a seller I would be some upset if a sale falls through because the buyer is a couple of months away from her 55th birthday!

Gus V on March 19 2018 at 01:10 PM

[CCI Admin]

Brian H. I agree with your comments. Especially about the legality of asking for proof of age. And as far as I interpret the Condominium Act someone under the age limit stated in various condo by-laws does not prevent a party who doesn’t meet that age limit from buying the condo, they just can’t live in it unless they meet the requirements of the by-law. For example, a person under the age limit of, lets say 55, may buy the condo for his/her parents, who are over 55, and then may live in the condo with them if the bylaws allow that a child over a certain age is allowed to live with a parent who has attained the age of 55 or over.

But it is a good question, because how do you enforce the age limit, when a unit is bought and rented out, if it’s not legal to ask for proof of age?

Bob S on March 19 2018 at 11:31 AM

[CCI Admin]

Caution: you shouldn’t try to restrict the sale to a buyer who doesn’t meet your age restriction, and I doubt that you can legally ask for proof of age at that time since you are not a party to the transaction. The agreement of Purchase and Sale is between the buyer and seller and doesn’t involve the Condo Assoc.

You can and should however make it clear to both parties that the bylaw only restricts occupancy.

Perhaps a Lawyer can draft a PERMISSION TO OCCUPY form for such use. This ‘form’ would include acknowledgment by the Condo Association that satisfactory proof of age has been provided by the intended occupier.

My thoughts only.

Brian H on March 19 2018 at 09:31 AM

[CCI Admin]

Steve T – thank you for your reply. When you “ask for buyers age verification at that time”, what do you accept as proof? If they are official documents (birth certificates, Driver’s license etc.) do you have a document retention policy/practice?

Tony B on March 19 2018 at 07:59 AM

[CCI Admin]

Thank you for asking the question. I, too, am interested in reading the replies. We are a 34 unit 50+ condo and until now we have taken people’s word. It hasn’t been a problem but I am aware we have an obligation to enforce the bylaws, so if we should be more diligent in this matter I would like to know our rights and obligations. p.s. we will be amending our bylaws to raise the age to 55+.

Tony B on March 19 2018 at 07:55 AM

[CCI Admin]

We are a 45 and over age restricted bareland condo and our bylaws reflect that in a number of areas. We, first off, when a unit comes up for sale, make sure the realtors know of the restriction. Homeowners may not always relate this as they as they want to find buyers. Secondly, once an offer is presented, either the realtors or the owner will ask for all the documents pertaining to the financials of the corporation. We ask for buyers age verification at that time. Lastly, if all the previous checks are met, we have have included a statement of the age restriction on the estoppel certificate. If the unit owner wishes to rent, all the same checks apply as the owner must apply to the Board for rental approval.

Steve T on March 19 2018 at 07:52 AM

[CCI Admin]

Rick,

Your summary of the Shores Decision and the resulting amendment is correct. So long as your bylaws obligate the Corporation to take care of the managed property the Corporations should do so. Nothing in the Amendment Act will change this, in fact, such further confirms the obligation of a Corporation in regards to managed property.

Todd Shipley

TODD S on March 12 2018 at 07:57 AM

This thread has been double posted and the response has been moved to the original thread.

Alan W on March 12 2018 at 03:15 PM

[CCI Admin]

Hi Rick, the judge’s recommendation was to amend bareland condo bylaws to include “managed” property for the purpose of creating a reserve fund. That can be done without contravening the Act.

Mark R on March 12 2018 at 10:56 AM

[CCI Admin]

Thanks,Mark.The court transcript is an interesting read (Canlit) Queensbench, 2012 and it basically concluded that the Condo Act of that time did not specify that bare land condos could administer managed property therefore they could not collect fees for that purpose.The Amendment ACT added a provision to the Condo Act to allow bare lands to henceforth collect fees for that purpose.Our bylaws amake our association responsible for managed property so we should be okay and as Bill states we may need to specify the specific properties we are responsible for.
I am still looking however for any draft statutory information that perhaps exist re this topic as there seems to be some impetus and discussion to proceed to clarify. But who says so and where?What is the authority?

Rick M on March 09 2018 at 03:42 PM

[CCI Admin]

The court ruling you refer to is “Maciejko v. Condominium Plan No. 9821495, 2012 ABQB 607”. I tried to post it here without success but you could google it. Essentially, the ruling says that, in the case of a bareland condo, the corporation cannot accumulate a reserve unless the components for which the reserve fund is established are specifically mentioned in the bylaws and the responsibility for those replacements or repair falls to the Corporation.
As to your question about “Common Property”, typically your bylaws will name your condominium corporation as the responsible party to maintain and to repair and replace common property components. The court ruling does not affect that.

Mark R on March 09 2018 at 01:41 PM

[CCI Admin]

Thanks Bill. So it is a bylaw issue that requires further clarification of the specific properties ( and parts/elements thereof) to be managed by a corporation ( assuming owners want/support that).

If we do this, I assume that operationally our board can continue to carry out the responsibility of repair and maintenance of common property on behalf of owners?? Sorry if I sound paranoid with my repetition.
Is there a source or posting I can go to for my record and use…
….

Rick M on March 09 2018 at 10:25 AM

[CCI Admin]

Common Property has always been owned by the Corporation and its maintenance was always paid for by fees collected. The problem was managing property NOT owned by the Corporation, property such as siding, windows, roofs etc. which are actually owned by the unit holder. Corporations in the 2012 decision were not allowed to collect fees for such maintenance until the 2013 Amendment Act. However they must pass bylaws defining which properties they manage but do not own, and for which they collect fees to maintain.

Bill D on March 09 2018 at 09:56 AM

[CCI Admin]

Thank you everyone for your guidance and direction. I finally found the answer in our by-laws.

Jack H on February 20 2018 at 08:18 AM

[CCI Admin]

In addition to what David has stated, check your bylaws. Look iin the Appendix of the Act at the bylaws there. Section 16(2) gives the board the porwer to hire a property manager. Your bylaws probably has a similar section.

Maurice P on February 20 2018 at 07:56 AM

[Author]

Posts