About Us

I began researching and writing this website during my last years as the president of a large high-rise. My original goal had been, and still is, to help condo owners understand their rights and responsibilities, the problems that can emerge, and how condos “work,” both physically and politically. In so doing, I was guided by my 30 years of condo experience and, especially, The Condominium Act, 1998 of Ontario. As well, I had consulted other provincial and territorial Acts to better understand the condo situation throughout the country.

However, the unexpected happened. After the first publication of this website (June 30, 2009), letters from desperate owners started arriving. Between July 2009 and December 31, 2010 of last year, 607 readers had sent letters, mainly about the problems they were facing in condos. These letters climbed to 1,144 by this past December 31, 2011.

The letters have become more numerous and more varied...but not more hopeful... and they have served as the basis for the revisions and additions to the latest editions of this website, including this one. Many of the letters are posted in Readers Respond.

Overall, as explained in Readers Respond, these letters documents the extent to which too many owners in too many condos are negatively affected, often painfully so, by various problems of governance and human frailties. Most of these problems would disappear or be greatly alleviated if the legislation regarding condos were improved. Indeed, no one oversees the implementation of the Condo Act and owners have no recourse to redress the problems they face. The Act itself needs to be seriously strengthened—and an institution independent of the various condo industries, such as a Condo Ombudsman, needs to be implemented.

I have approached the analysis of the letters received within the context of the research methods I have taught in university classes. More recently, the letters have inspired me to submit a Legislative Brief to the government of Ontario in September 2011 with the goal of strengthening the Condo Act to remedy governance issues and entrench owners' rights.

Anne-Marie Ambert, Ph.D.
University Professor (Emerita)
www.yorku.ca/ambert

This website does not accept advertisements, nor does it promote condo-related companies and professional groups, so as to remain impartial and free of potential conflicts of interest.