Mistakes to avoid 
“Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.
—Oscar Wilde

Condo-fees strike
The idea seems brilliant. You withhold your fees, possibly even putting them in a trust fund and then you tell the board that you will release the funds once they hold an AGM, hold elections, show corporation records, fix the leaks in your unit or whatever you are upset with.


New York City Rent Strike 1919

It seems even smarter to have a large group of owners join together in a condo-fees strike. Here are two examples I have read:

A special note to the home owners who have cancelled their pre-approved payment and are now refusing to pay their condo fees

First of all, good for you for having the courage and intestinal fortitude to do this! The PMC has now issued a notice that they will be putting a lien on your property. This is an intimidation tactic and we have to band together against this fraud! United we stand!

From an Owners blog Feb 2012

Here is an e-mail that was sent to the owners of a large condo in June 2013:

Since we have been demanding the board to show us the expense and the budget how the money was spend and they are not doing it.

Lets say the first or the last day of the month, we ALL don't pay our condo fees to make a point like a protest to demand a budget and expense report.

Now in order for this to happen we all have to be on the same boat and spread the word out the our neighbours and residents we see in our floors or elevators to do the same.


This has to be done like a proper planning so we have to pick a date, like in July or August payments to make a point. And it has to be taken seriously. We would have to also notify the off-shore owners to do the same, not to pay.

Now let me know your ideas about this plan.



I even had the owner of a small property management company suggest that I organize a condo fees strike when I was battling against the board at my previous condo.

However a tactic that sometimes works for renters will definitely backfire on condominium owners.

This is one of the biggest mistakes that an owner can make and it is definitely a very expensive one. Everyone who joins this strike will face identical penalties so your protest will end in a disastrous defeat.

Once you go into arrears, you will get a letter or two saying so from the corporation. If you ignore those letters, the condo lawyer will send you one that will include a demand for legal costs of around $800.

If you are still in arrears after two months, even sooner than that actually, the corporation can start lien proceedings against your unit and if you still hold out, they will get your mortgagee pay your fees. The costs then will run into the thousands.

Overestimating your support
In the beginning, only a small minority of owners will support you in your battle against the board. If you have the majority with you, you would have requisitioned a special owners' meeting by now and you would have already voted them out of office.

You have to build support and that usually takes a good cause, time and a lot of hard work.

Negative attacks
“You are all a bunch of crooks.”
—an upset owner to the head table at an AGM

It is a mistake to make negative personal attacks against the board members, the property manager or the owners who disagree with your views about reforming the management of the property.

The board members are your neighbours and when the fight is over, you will still be neighbours. It will create unnecessary bad feelings and it distracts from the issues.

You may end up on the board as a minority board member and will have to work with the other board members and that is a lot easier done if they do not hate you.

Focusing on personalities
It is the issues that are important, not a person's characteristics, personalities, quirks or habits. Calling the president a drunk, the treasurer a fool and the manager an idiot and a crook will not buy you much.

You will have more trouble getting other owners to support you if call your opponents names rather than give reasons why you and your group are better qualified to run the corporation.

Promises
Don't make promises that you will not be able to deliver. Some candidates promise to lower the fees, improve services and raise property values; all at the same time.

Don't get into a trap of promising one owner one thing and another owners something quite different.

Wasting time 
Don't waste time arguing with an owner who is a die-hard supporter of the board. You are just wasting your time and energy that is better spent talking with potential supporters.

Swearing, shouting and name-calling
Never take the low road. Yelling, swearing, threatening or taking cheap shots and mouthing put-down jokes will just lose you support.

Don't grand-stand at the owners' meetings by interrupting other speakers or arguing with the Chair. That will just hurt your credibility.

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