By-law packages

Law firms sell by-law packages to condo corporations in order to replace all the old by-laws with a new set that better fits the present legislation.

The positive
These packages often add in a standard unit by-law to assist on determining  the unit owner's and the corporation's responsibilities in cases of fire or flood.

The new packages usually include provisions for mediation and arbitration and they may also change the number of directors from three to five and make other needed housekeeping changes.

The negative
The by-law packages are so large, complex and deal with unfamiliar terms and issues that most owners can't read them. When selling these packages, the board, management and the lawyer stress the positive and ignore the parts that hurt the owners.

Usually stuck in the middle of these packages, are articles that give more power to the majority of the board to remove rogue and/or independent thinking members without letting the owners decide on whether to remove the director.

They may also add in extra penalties and sanctions against the owners and make it easier and quicker to take legal action against the owners and make it easier to lien an owner's unit.

Some restrict the owners democratic freedom of association and gives the majority of the board the right to censor the owners' communications with the other owners.

One by-law package gives the board the right to censor opinions and to stifle dissent among the owners. Shades of Stalinism.

An opportunity
Yet when the board brings forward a motion to pass a complete new set of by-laws, it gives the owners an opportunity to pass motions to add, rescind or amend the by-laws so they reflect the true interests of the owners.

The difficulty is to get sufficient proxies and owners present at the meeting to pass the needed amendments.

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