Board claims you are harassing
employees/ contractors
Property management is not an easy job. Too many people treat the
management office like it's a drive-through Tim Horton's. It's not
like that. Residents shouldn't expect to walk in at any time and expect
instant service.
Some residents think that the manager works for them and they can be
rude and nasty. No doubt about that. Just stand in line at a fast-food
outlet and you can see the employees taking a lot of abuse.
Personal interactions
are too easy to escalate, on both sides, and then it can be very
difficult for people to back down.
Workplace
harassment rule
The board passing a rule to control rude and/or persistent complaining
by residents is a fairly new idea. It originated in labour legislation
designed to stop undue harassment in the workplace.
The manager is an employee who works on behalf of the condo corporation
so he or she has the right to be protected from undue harassment. Fair
enough.
So an harassed superintendent, cleaner, security guard or property
manager can take a resident to court to seek relief. That too is fair
enough.
Condo harassment
rules
One Brampton condo
adopted such a rule. The board minutes reads that the intent is to:
"Deal with rude and chronic complainers."

If the board adopts such a rule or policy, then the condo corporation
can enforce the rule, add all their legal costs onto the unit's
maintenance expenses and
use the threat of a lien to collect their costs.

Over-reaching
language
Sure there are a few rude and over-bearing residents who will
camp in the manager's office if you allow them to. Sure a few residents
take up endless amount of the manager's time. Yes a properly
written rule—wisely, rarely and reluctantly enforced—may be needed. No
question.
However, there are managers and boards that will abuse such a rule to
"punish" owners that they do not like or who show too much interest in
the corporation's affairs. A rule that is suppose to be used to prevent
harassment could be used to intimidate and harass.
Whether some of these rules will be upheld by the courts is something
we will have to see.
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