Most property managers know about the turn-over meeting. Far fewer know that the Condominium Act, 1998 requires a separate owners’ meeting within three months of registration. A turn-over meeting does not automatically count, and in many new buildings the three-month meeting never happens.
The three-month meeting
Section 45(2) requires the board to hold a general meeting of owners within three months of registration. The clock starts at registration and binds whichever board is in office. In a new building, that is the declarant’s board.
It matters because owners appoint the auditor at their first meeting (s. 60(1)). Miss it, and the board ends up choosing the auditor instead.
Why the turn-over meeting usually does not cover it
The turn-over meeting (s. 43) runs on a different clock. It is triggered when the declarant stops owning a majority of the units, not by registration, and the two dates often do not line up. If turn-over comes five or six months after registration, the three-month meeting was due first. Holding turn-over later does not cure the miss. It also does not replace the regular AGM after each fiscal year end.
When the declarant keeps its majority
Slow-selling buildings can stay under declarant control for years. Section 42(6) gives owners a voice in the meantime. The first board must hold an owners’ meeting by the later of 90 days after the first unit transfers and 30 days after 20 per cent of units have transferred. At that meeting, owners other than the declarant may elect two directors to the first board.
The exception in section 42(7)
The board can skip that meeting only if the declarant no longer owns a majority and has told the board so in writing. Both conditions are needed. Don’t cancel on the strength of a phone call. Get the written notice and keep it in the minute book.
One meeting can do more than one job
When timing overlaps, one meeting can serve as the three-month meeting and also as the section 42(6) or turn-over meeting. The notice must say which meetings it is, and owners still need to appoint the auditor.
A quick check for managers
Pull the registration date, the dates the first unit and 20 per cent of units transferred, the turn-over date, and the fiscal year end. Then ask:
- Was an owners’ meeting held within three months of registration?
- Did owners appoint an auditor at that meeting?
- If the declarant kept its majority, was the section 42(6) meeting held, with an election for two owner directors?
- If it was skipped, is there written notice from the declarant under section 42(7)?
- If one meeting did double duty, did the notice name each purpose?
- Was the first AGM held within six months of year end, with the financial statements and auditor’s report attached?
This post is general information, not legal advice. Every corporation’s facts are different.
