[CCI Admin]

which do you feel safer from a break in or vandal standpoint?

knowing whose parking stall is whose?

not knowing whose parking stall is whose?

dosen’t make any difference?

Don A on January 10 2018 at 03:08 PM

[CCI Admin]

I agree with comments regarding titled stalls. That info is in the public domain and is available at Alberta Land Titles. If the stalls are not titled, then by definition they are common property. In my opinion, the use of common property or any portion of it, is information that any owner is entitled to. The stall could be rented by the Corp to an outsider, a renter, or an owner, but in either case the Board has the duty to keep all owners informed on the details of the use of common property.

Brian H on January 10 2018 at 08:50 AM

[CCI Admin]

Because of privacy issues, I believe that neither the Board nor the property manager should be giving out contact information of owners whose parking stalls appear to be unused. Furthermore, it’s not the role of the Board or the management company to act as a go-between to facilitate rentals of parking spaces or condo apartments. Property managers have enough to do to ensure that the facilities are maintained to an optimum level and don’t have time to pass along messages that could and should be posted on a bulletin board.

Donna S on January 10 2018 at 08:07 AM

[CCI Admin]

Board members are entitled to this info. If the property management company is this way . Time to get a new one. Call the corporation lawyer. Even if titled it is registered at Land Titles and is in the Public Domain.

Rod P on January 09 2018 at 02:19 PM

[CCI Admin]

If the Board deems it prudent to release the info on the Owner, and the info is in the possession of the Management Company, then the Board can follow up for you.
If they are titled stalls then they will have a legal description. By referencing the condo plan (you will have received this with your purchase documents) you can figure out the legal description and then search on the Land Titles site for the Owner name and address. Will cost $10/title. It won’t tell you which condo unit they are associated with. You would need to know which condo unit that particular Owner of the parking spot owns to do the cross reference. If non-titled then you are at the mercy of the Board providing the info on who has been assigned the spots.

Shaune I on January 09 2018 at 02:01 PM

[CCI Admin]

what happens when the board tells you they don’t have that information and the management company won’t reveal it?

Don A on January 09 2018 at 11:19 AM

[CCI Admin]

We encourage owñers to advertise on the lobby bulletin board both when looking for a space to rent or offering to rent out a space they own. If an owner has privacy concerns, the notice can be referred to our condo manager to get the two parties in touch.

Many apartment style condos have each parking stall on a separate title from the condo unit. Thus you can have some bizarro situations, like a former apartment owner who still owns a parking stall. We certainly rely on our condo manager to keep track of who owns what parking stalls, and the identity of renters using specific stalls. So it’s pretty simple: the condo manager calls the other party and establishes whether they want to be contacted or not. That’s worked well for us.

Gus V on January 09 2018 at 10:59 AM

[CCI Admin]

Privacy concerns aside, if these are titled stalls, they be nice and facilitate things for you by passing on your information to the owner. Ask for this specifically, and see what they say. I do this all the time.

If they are not titled, then they are assigned, and they can make changes as necessary. Some bylaws have stipulations for assigned stalls that they must be used to be kept. So empty stalls can be reassigned based on need, not pre-existing privileged.

Alicia J on January 09 2018 at 10:25 AM

[CCI Admin]

Generally the identity of the owner of a stall, even the unit number, would not be given out by our management office without the permission of the person with authority over any stall. If your corporation has a community forum like Geniepad, a website, or a posting board in a lobby an owner or occupant interested in renting a stall could make their interest known. Strict parking controls would definitely be a part of the building maintaining security.

Jen M on January 09 2018 at 10:07 AM

[CCI Admin]

In our building, some of the vacant parking spaces are attached to rented units, which complicates matters. Board members know who occupies each space, but we don’t always know which units are rented. As has been said above, the management company cannot release ownership information to other people without their permission. We have had owners post offers to rent, but there seems to be no way at present to search out other spaces which may be available.

Robin W on January 09 2018 at 09:34 AM

[CCI Admin]

The issue might be the property management company isn’t authorized by the Condo Board to release that information. I would suggest contacting the Board to request the information or to have your information passed to the owner(s) to contact you.

Christopher B on January 09 2018 at 09:22 AM

[CCI Admin]

If you are a board member then I believe you are entitled to that information. If you are an owner looking to rent a stall then I do not believe you are without the permission of whomever owns the stall. Perhaps the manager could give that owner your information and they can contact you directly. The rental arrangement is strictly between the owner and the stall renter.
Trudy A.

Trudy A on January 09 2018 at 09:21 AM

[CCI Admin]

Self managed and no parking garage, so no idea what is normal. Could be a privacy issue. But if some owners might want to rent, perhaps you could ask for a notice to go out suggesting they post parking for rent signs on the bulletin board giving their contact info.

Alastair D on January 09 2018 at 09:10 AM

[CCI Admin]

Some further insight into this topic can be found here: https://www.fsresidential.com/alberta/news-and-events/articles/how-to-create-policies-for-your-condo-association%E2%80%94

Grant F on December 07 2017 at 06:16 PM

[CCI Admin]

Hello, Brad–about a year ago we revised our policies and implemented a number of new ones on a wide variety of issues. We had a separate committee (they were all board members but this meant board meetings could concentrate on the regular business). The committee drafted the policies and forwarded them to the Board for approval and implementation.

The committee decided that all the policies would follow the same format. The underlying goal was that this should be a positive process–not to make money off fines, or to ‘punish’ people, but to try to change their behaviour in order to ensure the safety and security of all the residents, to protect the common property and to help owners protect their own condo investment, and to make the bylaws clearer and provide necessary details so that everyone can enjoy condo living while respecting their neighbours’ rights.

We also tried to write the policies in plain English and to make them generic, for example, always writing ‘the Board’ or ‘the Corporation’ or ‘the property manager.’

Each policy begins with a short (two sentences at the most) explanation of its PURPOSE, always worded in a positive way. For example, the Pets Policy purpose is: “To maintain the value of the residential units and the common property.”

Next, Section 1 is usually a statement of general principles. Each sentence is numbered 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and so forth, so that there isn’t a blocky paragraph that goes on and on. And don’t subdivide any further (1.1.1, 1.1.2, … this just makes it look messy and the numbering is confusing). If you have a number of things that you want to group–say, in a storage locker policy, use (2.1) and say, “Do not store any of the following items in the storage locker: (use bullet points for each item) Gasoline, propane, paint, dangerous chemicals, biohazardous substances ….

By the way, when you have items in a bullet point list, it’s almost impossible to cover everything. Always leave some breathing room by including a general point at the end of the list (for example, ‘and any other items which may be hazardous or dangerous’). Also include a sentence about contacting the Board if there is a question about a particular item.

Additional sections can address specific issues–for example, the pets policy could have a section on allowing ‘visiting’ animals–that is, animals brought onto the property by visitors, or allowing therapy dogs.

If the policy is about a process–such as moving (into or out of the building)–the sections should follow the process–what to do before the date of the move, then on the date of the move, and then after the move.

The last numbered section (or sections) should contain a clear explanation of the consequences of contravening the policy–which can include fines, charge back or cost recovering for cleaning up messes on the common property (by approved animals AND by unapproved animals).

And at the end of each policy insert a chart of the legislation, bylaws, and other relevant policies or rules–quoting the specific section(s), so that it’s clear how the policy is tied in to the system. The chart should also list if there are any forms in use with the policy.

The most helpful thing I can say is, after writing a draft of a policy, set it aside for at least 48 hours and then come back to it and do some more editing. And after the Board approves the policy, post it on your GeniePad website and give people lots of time ahead of the implementation date.

Donna G on December 07 2017 at 05:20 PM

[Author]

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