Condo Conversation Corner - Summer 2021

Article from Volume 8, Issue Number 3, 2021

Condo Conversation Corner - Summer 2021

By CCI MB Communications Committee | Other articles by CCI MB Communications Committee | Regular Column

Here are some items concerning previous newsletter articles, Lunch-n-Learns, webinars and Conversations in previous Newsletter editions. If you want to contribute to the discussion, you can make a submission to cci-manitoba.ca/resources/condo-conversation-corner

Short-term Rentals

Besides receiving a submission from a member, this topic also made the news in a big way. While there is a commonly used idiom, “there is no such thing as bad publicity”, it certainly doesn’t apply in this case. Recent news reports such as “Parties, drug sales and noise come from suites rented out for short term stints say condo owners”.

One CCI Manitoba director reached out to a resident owner at one downtown condo to establish a dialogue and get a complete understanding of the scope of the problem. Another CCI Manitoba director, who is also a resident owner of a downtown condo unit, is participating in a working group of downtown condo corporations. As well, CCI Manitoba has formed an ad hoc committee to discuss the issues and bring forward some recommendations. We are also looking at the possibility of having a forum or expert panel session in our fall schedule of events.

This issue was also brought before the City of Winnipeg’s Executive Policy Committee (EPC) on May 18th. There are a lack of regulations governing condos for short-term rentals, and it creates an unequal playing field for the hotel and hospitality industry. Most importantly, this is a safety and security issue for resident owners of condo units. As well, it presents some financial risk to those responsible owners that lease their units out.

You can watch the portions of the May 18th EPC meeting online, paying attention to the times noted. Here is a link to the recording of the meeting https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=eLANJ1w8fyM and these are the times that the short-term rental issues are discussed

starts with Councillor Chambers 0:19 - 0:26
Councillor Gillingham talks briefly at the 0:33 point followed by Janice Lukes briefly at 0:34
1:20 - 1:30 with a resident owner from GlassHouse Condos
2:20 - 2:28 with GlassHouse resident owner and board member
2:28 - 2:36 Scott Jocelyn of Manitoba Hotel Association emphasizes the regulatory side of it
3:46 - 3:56 with a representative of Ashdown Condos
3:59 - 4:02 a CCI Director who spoke as a downtown condo owner

It is worth pointing out that this problem is not unique to Winnipeg but is a problem across the country. Some provinces, such as Ontario, have had court cases find in favour of CCs concerning short-term rentals, by relying on clauses in their declarations stating “single-family residential”. Lawyers in other provinces have started to leverage the Ontario legal precedents in some cases, since "A single-family doesn't have a check-in, checkout time, doesn't have a cancellation policy, doesn't have rules as to how to change the towels,"2.

Is a prohibition of short-term rentals required? Opinions from resident owners are likely different from investor owners? Should there be a minimum term for the rental period? What does your declaration state in this regard?

Fundamentally, the bad behaviour of many of the users of the short-term rentals is the problem that must be solved, to ensure the safety and security of the residents and to protect the investment of all unit owners.

Condo Board Responsibility and Accountability

We received a submission from a member of a small condo corporation (less than 50 units) expressing concern about the willingness of their Board to provide the required leadership and to exercise the authority granted to them by the Manitoba Condo Act. The member seeking advice writes

We are a small condominium corporation ... board members reluctant to take responsibility for difficult decision making as the effects of their decisions, particularly those that were not seen as popular, could cause them to feel uncomfortable around their neighbours. … board members shy away from making prudent and responsible decisions with a focus on the good of the condo, ... often leaves decision making to a vote of owners who do not have a responsibility to act prudently for the good of the condo ... owners have voted down an increase in condo fees despite recommendations from the reserve fund study indicating the need for an increase. ... The board is reluctant to remind owners that it is their right to make decisions like raising condo fees or securing contract work as it sees fit without a vote of owners. ... Construction work is decided by what is cheapest rather than what will be best for the long term of the condo. ... As a unit owner, I am concerned my rights and property are not being protected but I’m sympathetic towards the board who likely don’t see the benefit of standing up to owners. This year they made the decision to raise condo fees … and have been inundated with everything from refusals to acknowledge the increase to calls to bring it to a vote. ... As a unit owner I'm not sure what can be done. Any advice?

This is not an uncommon concern expressed by our members, more so for those that are self-managed and do not have a professional property manager on contract. Besides running for the Board and getting elected (which could be an obstacle based on the general attitude of the other owners), other options include publicly supporting the Board and speaking your mind at owners meetings, and also reaching out to Board members individually to encourage them and offer support.

Since there is no regulatory body for condos in Manitoba, we at CCI Manitoba can suggest that directors take advantage of our educational opportunities as they arise (September through June each year) or watch our podcasts of prior education events and as well as review articles in past newsletter editions in our archive under the Members Only area https://cci-manitoba.ca. There are also online resources on the CCI National website https://cci.ca/resource-centre plus a listing of educational events across all CCI Chapters https://cci.ca/events/upcoming-events that all CCI Manitoba members are eligible to attend.

Some self-study can also be done by becoming familiar with the Manitoba Condo Act and Regulation https://www.gov.mb.ca/condo/ or by reviewing your own Declaration and Bylaws.

Quotes for Special Projects or Services

One of our members sent us the following email

“I'm curious if there is a standard SOC sheet or a scope of work required sheet which a condo corp can use when asking for bids on this work to be done.

This is an annual requirement, so in my mind, it makes sense to have everyone quote on the same type of work and in the same order so we as a board are comparing apples to apples.

Is there something out there in Condo Land?”

Comparing quotes from different service providers can be difficult because they often quote slightly different services. This makes it difficult for Boards to evaluate the quotes and make decisions promptly. There are a few means to reduce this difficulty, such as using a statement of work (SOW), a request for proposal (RFP) or even defining a CC policy so that you are consistent year over year for seasonal services. They would be useful to have when seeking quotes for services such as

Lawn care - what is included in core service and what is extra charge? Weeding, fertilizer, aeration, weed killer, pruning
Snow removal - what time will they show up and after how many cm of snow? Do they pile it up or haul it away by default? Do you define where you want it piled up and what areas you want shoveled? Does the service include sanding?
Deck refinishing - options include sanding, stain colours, board replacement, levelling, etc
Inspections of critical infrastructure
Major renovations or additions

For all of these, it is useful to have a SOW or RFP to provide to all of the bidders. Assuming all bidders use the SOW or RFP (sadly, this is not a given), it should be much easier to evaluate and compare the bids to make a good and timely decision.

Alan Forbes
Chair, Communications Committee

1 Winnipeg condominium owners call for regulations and taxes on short-term rentals Sean Kavangh CBC News 2021-05-18
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnipeg-short-term-rentals-airbnb-condominiumsdamage-crime-1.6031966
2 What condo owners can do to oust short-term rentals from their buildings CBC
News 2019-08-07
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/what-condoowners-can-do-to-challenge-short-term-rentals-1.5238097