Responsibility / confidentiality Agreement

Question

Hi Betty,

I'm a board member for a townhouse condo and am wondering if you could give some advice. Our Board is considering having our Board members sign a "Responsibility/Confidentiality Agreement". Some Board members are questioning the need for such an agreement and tend to think it's more trouble then it's worth and it sends out the wrong message to the other owners.

I was just wondering whether you know of Condos that asks their Board members to sign such an agreement. And if so do you provide templates of such an agreement. Also, if you know, whether there are any legal requirements (or as a precautionary measure) that Boards sign one (especially now with the new Privacy Act.)

Yours sincerely,

H M


Answer

Dear HM

I believe this is a timely and excellent question with the new Privacy Legislation that is now in effect. I think there is a real need for board members to understand that they must not pass on information that pertains to individual owners such as financial information or personal information. The other concern for the Board of Directors is with regards to the cost and coverage of Directors and Officers Insurance coverage, when the Board of Directors does not respect the Privacy Legislation.

I think having a confidentiality agreement, in writing between board members would be a wise and prudent solution to minimizing any risk for the board should someone not understand the parameters of what is confidential, and what is public information for a condominium. There is nothing in the Act or Regulation that makes this mandatory, although the Condominium Property Act does give the Board of Directors the responsibility of acting in the best interest of the condominium as a whole.

At this point in time we do not have a template available. We will take the lead with your suggestion and look to having one available on the Condo-Check web site (www.condo-check.com) in the near future. Thank you for the suggestion.

An other program that would be of great benefit to all condominiums is the Risk Management Protocol system. To learn more about this program refer to our May issue of the condo e-magazine at www.condo-check.com (follow the link to free e-magazine). Details on how to contact the protocol Centre is in the e-magazine as well.

Thank you for this timely question.

Betty!

Special Assessments

Question

Is there any part of the Condo Act or Regulations that addresses a Special Assessment timeline? By this I mean, is there a minimum amount of time between the notification of an assessment and the date it is due? I receive copies of Board Minutes and the possibility of an assessment was never mentioned.

Thanks for any help you can give me. I've searched the Act and Regulations and cannot find anything related to timelines.

Thanks BJE

Answer

Dear BJE

Thank you for your question. This information is found in the bylaws of the condominium corporation. Be sure to check the registered bylaws. Registered bylaws can be obtained from any Registry office in Alberta.

Typically bylaws give the Board the power to Special Assess (cash call) the owners when there is a shortfall. Bylaws typically give the Board the power to set up the flexibility or a plan for the assessment to be implemented. Many bylaws allow an assessment to be levied with as little as 10 days notice to the owners. We recommend reasonableness prevail and that the balance be respected between the need for the funds and the ability of the owners to pay quickly.

You will need to obtain a copy of the CAD which will provide the information you need to obtain these bylaws.

To get a copy of the CAD you will need the legal condo plan number. The condo plan number will be a 7 digit number located on the title to your unit. Once you have that 7 digit plan number you add ";cs" to the number - "xxxxxxx;cs" give this description to the Registry office. They will be able to help you from there.

You can access the CAD and Condo Plan through the web site at Condo-Check. Go to www.condo-check.com and follow the links to the Condo-Plans(SPIN) . You will require a credit card to access the government account (SPIN). Costs are minimal.

I hope this helps

Betty