The Condominium Authority of Ontario (CAO) has announced that starting today, October 1st 2020, that the Condominium Authority Tribunal (CAT) can now hear cases revolving more than just issues relating to condominium records.

The Tribunal can now hear cases dealing with pets in condominiums, vehicles & parking related issues, storage issues, and compensation with regards to these issues.

This is the first step since the Tribunal was created three years ago next month to make it easier for condominium owners to have a more streamlined and simplified way of dealing with issues in their condominium.

While this still does not go far enough – for example, noise related issues and the enforcement of the condominium’s By-laws and Rules are not included in this, it is a huge step forward to make condominium Board accountable to the owners that they are supposed to be representing.

Also, many of these issues can be handled online through the CAT, which improves the efficiency of the service, as well as makes it more economical. Also, each participant can participate separately at times so that their position can be made at a convenient time to them and gives them a chance to prepare themselves better for making any statements.

Let’s hope things continue to improve in the province for condominium owners!