We are often asked by clients whether there is an obligation to include ongoing human rights complaints and scheduled mediations in their status certificates.
Section 76(1)(h) of the Condominium Act states that the status certificate shall include “a statement of all outstanding judgments against the corporation and the status of all legal actions to which the corporation is a party.” Paragraph 19 of the standard status certificate form prescribed by the Condominium Act regulations requires the condo corporation to confirm that it is not a party to a proceeding before a court of law, an arbitrator or administrative tribunal.
Therefore, we recommend that condominium corporations reference any court proceeding, human rights complaint or arbitration that the corporation is a party to. Even if there is not a significant risk that the corporation would need to pay any damages to the party who commenced the human rights complaint, the fact that the corporation is a party is sufficient for the complaint to be referenced in the status certificate.
On the other hand, we do not believe that scheduled mediations between a corporation and an owner or between two corporations (i.e., a shared facility dispute) would need to be disclosed in a status certificate, as these are not “proceedings” that could lead to any judgment being ordered against the Corporation. If, however, the matter is not settled at mediation and an arbitration is subsequently scheduled, then we would recommend referencing the arbitration in the status certificate.
