A practical guide for owners who already know the system and want to change it.
Most owners know what a well-run condominium looks like from the outside: stable fees, clean common areas, no surprise bills, units that sell quickly. What they know less clearly is what actually produces that result and what they can do to move their own building in that direction.
This guide skips the definitions. It focuses on what works, what to watch, and where to apply pressure.
- Start with an honest read of the building’s physical condition
The lobby tells you almost nothing. The systems tell you everything.
Before anything else, get a clear picture of where the building actually stands physically. Request the most recent engineering report or reserve fund study and look specifically for:
- components listed as past or near end of service life
- repairs that have been deferred across multiple study cycles
- items flagged by engineers but not yet acted on by the board
If no recent engineering assessment exists, that is itself a signal. Buildings that thrive get inspected regularly, not only when something breaks.
- Compare the reserve fund to reality, not just to itself
A reserve fund balance means nothing in isolation. What matters is the gap between what is in the fund and what the building actually needs over the next ten years.
Pull the reserve fund study and find two numbers: the current balance and the projected expenditure schedule for the next decade. Then look at contribution levels. Are annual contributions tracking the study’s recommended trajectory, or falling behind it?
A fund that looks adequate today but is receiving contributions below the recommended level is quietly building a gap. That gap eventually shows up as a special assessment or a sharp fee increase. The earlier you identify the drift, the more options the board has to correct it gradually.
One specific question worth asking at the next AGM: is the current reserve contribution aligned with the engineer’s recommended scenario, or are we below it?
- Evaluate management by outcomes, not by presence
A management company’s job is not to be visible. It is to produce results: maintenance done on time, contractors properly supervised, costs controlled, records accurate, residents informed.
To assess whether your management company is actually performing, track a few concrete things over twelve months:
- How long does it take for reported maintenance issues to be resolved?
- Are major contracts put to competitive tender, or does the same vendor keep getting work?
- Are financial reports available to owners, and do they match what was budgeted?
- When something goes wrong, does management communicate proactively, or do owners find out late?
Weak management rarely looks dramatic. It looks like small delays, vague answers, and quietly rising costs. Patterns over time are more meaningful than any single incident.
If the pattern is consistently poor, owners have the right to push the board to review the management contract. The board hires management. It can also replace it.
- Hold the board to a specific standard
The board of directors is the most important governance lever available to owners. It controls the management relationship, approves the budget, and sets the long-term direction of the building.
A board that functions well makes decisions based on documents and professional advice, not personal opinion. It communicates results, not just intentions. It plans capital work years ahead, not months. It treats all owners consistently.
As an owner, the most direct tool you have is your vote at the AGM. Use it deliberately. Before the meeting:
- Read the candidate statements if they exist
- Ask candidates specific questions: What is your position on the current reserve fund contribution level? What is the most important capital project the board should be planning for?
- If a director has been on the board for several years, look at what changed during that time
If the board is making poor decisions, the most effective response is not a complaint to management. It is organized owner participation at the AGM.
- Build an informed owner group before you need one
The single most practical thing owners can do to improve their building is create a way to communicate with each other that does not depend on the management company.
An independent residents’ group, whether a WhatsApp group, a Telegram channel, or a private Facebook group, allows owners to share information, coordinate questions for the board, and act together when a situation requires it. The platform is not the point. The rules are.
A working group needs three things to stay useful: it must be limited to building-related topics, it must have active moderation, and it must have a clear purpose beyond general conversation. Groups that drift into gossip stop being useful within weeks.
When a major decision comes up, such as a proposed special assessment, a management contract renewal, or a significant repair tender, an organized and informed owner group can engage meaningfully. A disorganized one reacts emotionally after the decision is already made.
- Protect the building’s market reputation actively
A building’s reputation in the real estate market is not neutral. It either works for owners or against them.
Realtors, buyers, and their lawyers track which buildings are known for governance problems, repeated special assessments, or unresolved legal disputes. That knowledge is informal but persistent. A building with a poor reputation takes longer to sell, generates more buyer hesitation, and negotiates at a disadvantage on price.
Reputation is built through consistent behavior over time: repairs done when planned, fees that increase gradually rather than in spikes, transparent communication, and an absence of visible conflict. None of this requires exceptional circumstances. It requires steady execution of basic governance responsibilities.
Owners who want to protect their property values have a direct interest in how the building is perceived externally, not just how it functions internally.
- Pick one thing and move it forward
Thriving condominiums are not produced by a single dramatic intervention. They are produced by consistent attention to a small number of things that matter.
If your building has a specific problem, identify the clearest lever and work it. If the reserve fund is underfunded, the lever is the AGM vote on the budget. If management is performing poorly, the lever is the board. If owners are disengaged, the lever is a residents’ group. If the building has deferred major repairs, the lever is requesting engineering documentation and asking publicly what the plan is.
Trying to fix everything at once usually produces conflict and little progress. Focusing on one issue, building visible support for a specific change, and following through is how buildings actually improve.
The buildings with the strongest resale prices and most stable fee histories are rarely the newest or the most architecturally impressive. They are the ones where a sufficient number of owners decided to pay attention before the problems became expensive.
That decision is available to any building at any time.
Alexander Baraz
Consultant for Condominium Owners
condoowneradvisor.ca