Escalation
Being ignored follows a pattern. So does getting answered.
Polite residents get a closed ticket. Residents with a dated file get a plumber. This is the order of operations. Skip a step only if there is danger — then call the fire department, TSSA, or the city, and still send the letter the same day.
- 1
Informal report
A portal ticket or a phone call starts the clock. It is not a paper trail on its own. Log the date, the name, and what they said.
- 2
First written notice
A letter that cites the Act, asks for a dated written response, and is copied to the board. This is the product. It does not threaten a records filing or CAT. It tells them to do the work.
- 3
Follow-up on the deadline
If they miss the response date, you write again the same day. You attach the first letter. You still do not jump to a records request.
- 4
Request for records — 30 to 60 days later
If the issue is still ignored after a month or two, then s. 55. Board minutes, work orders, contractor reports, what the board was told. Use the CAO prescribed form. The board has 30 days to answer on their form. This is often the move that produces a human being.
- 5
Board and head office
The property manager works for the board. The site manager works for a company. Copy both on every letter. Ask that it be placed on the corporation’s records and tabled at the next board meeting.
- 6
CAT, where it fits
The Condominium Authority Tribunal is online, relatively inexpensive, and real. Jurisdiction is not unlimited: records, many nuisances, pets, parking, storage, and related charges. Do not file CAT off a first letter. Check the CAO site before you file.
- 7
Everything else
Municipal property standards, TSSA, the fire department, the HRTO, mediation under s. 132, or a lawyer for s. 134 / s. 135. The letters you already sent are the exhibit.
Who to copy, and why
Property manager (To)
They need the demand on their file. Do not CC them as a courtesy and To nobody.
Board of directors
They hired the company. A letter they never saw is a letter the manager can bury.
Head office / regional manager
Site staff are measured on ‘resolved tickets’. Regional staff are measured on lost contracts.
Superintendent
Useful for access and facts. Not a decision-maker. Optional.
CAO / CAT
Do not CC the tribunal on the first letter. File there later, with this letter attached.
The corporation’s lawyer
Almost never on the first letter. You will meet them if you go further.
Deadlines we actually use
| Situation | Days |
|---|---|
| Fire, no heat in January, active flooding | 1–3 (response) |
| Leaks, pests, security, elevators | 7–14 (first letter) |
| Nuisance, parking, chargebacks | 10–14 |
| Ordinary common-element repair | 14 |
| First letter — do not threaten records | Ask for a written answer. That is all. |
| s. 55 records request, after 30–60 days ignored | 30 (statutory, board’s form) |
| Status certificate (s. 76) | 10 (statutory) |
Reply Required is not a law firm and this is not legal advice. Condominium disputes turn on your province’s statute, your declaration or bylaws, and the facts. We write a stern paper trail so a manager, a board, a tribunal, or a lawyer has something to work with. For legal advice, retain a lawyer or licensed paralegal in your province.