03-17-2021, 12:34 PM
(03-16-2021, 11:40 PM)nms Wrote: I guess this building will be around for longer than any of us. What's the track record for condo towers long term? I can imagine that they can be a pain to maintain once the various major components reach the end of their lives. Condo towers also limit what can be done with the land long-term. At least with rental buildings there is a chance that a landlord can do a full refit or change unit sizes, or even knock the building down and start over.
While changing unit sizes in condo building is pretty much a non-starter, major maintenance is not. The Condo Act requires condo corporations to plan for and fund future maintenance for 30 years out, including all major components of the building, whether interior, exterior or mechanical. The onus is on the condo board to drive this and ensure that maintenance is done in a timely fashion, and the building remains safe, up to date and attractive.
The reserve funding is relatively new in Ontario, and was intended to address insufficient condo corp reserves for major maintenance. It will certainly help with that, but it's too new to draw detailed conclusions about it.