08/13/2024 – Jurisdiction Ontario
Part 87 published on 01/09/2024
Corporation not properly authorized to charge fees for use of non-exclusive-use parking
The Tribunal held that the condominium corporation did not have the authority to charge rental fees for the use of its non-exclusive-use parking spaces, nor to have residents ticketed for failure to display a parking pass. The Board had simply announced these requirements without passing a by-law or following the process to make a Rule.
The Tribunal said:
Article IV 2 (b) of PCC 129’s By-Law No. 6 sets out the powers of the corporation. These include:
To lease, or to grant or transfer an easement or license through any part or parts of the common elements by way of a special by-law, except those parts of the common elements over which any owner has exclusive use.
The undisputed evidence is that on October 1, 2021, PCC 129 began to lease its common element parking spaces designated for the non-exclusive use of residents on a reserved basis for a monthly fee of $50 and that it did not enact the special by-law required to permit this leasing. Therefore, I find that PCC 129 failed to comply with the requirements set out in its By-Law No. 6, in violation of s. 119 (1) of the Act.
Furthermore, there is no evidence before me to indicate that PCC 129 made any amendments to its February 2020 parking rules to reflect the leasing program. Rule 6.II (a) states that residents may park in the non-exclusive use resident spaces on a ‘first-come, first-serve’ basis. Rule 6.II (c) states that residents may not use the spaces for more than 72 hours. Section 58 (6) of the Act sets out the process corporations must follow to make, amend or repeal a rule. In summary, this includes providing notice to owners of a proposed rule change along with a copy of the proposed rule and its proposed effective date. Owners then have 30 days within which to requisition a meeting. If no meeting is requisitioned, the rule becomes effective. The evidence is that PCC 129’s board of directors simply announced the leasing program in August 2021 with an effective date of October 1, 2021.
Benoit v. Peel Condominium Corporation No. 129, 2024 ONCAT 124