February, 2022 - CCI GRAND RIVER

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Where Does Social Media Take Your Condominium?

February 24, 2022/in Educational

Social media is an ever-evolving beast. Once you get comfortable with one algorithm, there have since been five updates, and a new sub-app that everyone is telling you to use. It’s understandable that most find themselves wanting to pull their hair out once tasked with social media managing. This can be especially frustrating if you are already overwhelmed should anyone utter “social media” around you.

Where do you start? How do you map out your KPIs? What’s keeping all this from becoming too overwhelming and getting away from you?

It’s clear that social media is key to your continued success, and understanding how to utilize this tool will make marketing much less intimidating.

Understanding the Importance of Marketing Your Condominium or Company

At its core, marketing your condominium, your management company, or your business can be simplified to one word: connection.

Engaging with your audience, whether occupant, potential buyer, or industry network, is crucial to building a strong, positive reputation. People are in constant search of connection, and if you can strategize a way to appeal to your masses in a way that is more personable rather than robotic, you are on the right track.

Given how we are as a society, it’s important to understand one key thing: anyone who has never heard of you will look up your social media.

Anyone. Everyone. Staying relevant, consistent, and approachable online will help when it comes to first and lasting impressions.

The first thing you need to do is choose your preferred social media platform. You do not need to be on every single main platform, but you should be utilizing at least two. Take the time to get to know the platforms, and ensure that those platforms are where your audiences will likely spend their time.

Once you narrow down which social media apps your audience uses, and which ones you feel confident using, the rest will fall into place.

Measuring Your Social Media Success

It’s not always about the number of likes a post gets. Though we all like to see that count rise, and get a little giddy when we see higher double and triple digits, there is more to measuring than meets the eye.

Reach. Engagement. Total follows. Those are three areas where you always want to see in the green. Making sure your content goes out at the right time, on the right day, will ensure you hit those first two targets. The followers, will follow.

Monitoring Your Social Media

Social media is both simple and complicated. It can get away from you easily, and pile up under a mountain of updates and missed insights.

If we circle back to your online reputation, there is one area of social media that you absolutely do not want to ignore.

Reviews.

By a show of hands, how many of us can say we monitor our online reviews, regularly? How many of us can say we know how to handle negative reviews or online disputes?

Monitoring your tone online is a difficult task, and is especially difficult when you’re handling uncomfortable situations. And even more so, if the person handling the situation is already frustrated.

The key to handling negative reviews is to deal with them ASAP. Since we’re now in the habit of checking our reviews regularly, it’ll become much easier to regulate your online presence.

If you come across a negative note or comment, here are some quick steps to handling it:

Read the comment carefully.
- Ensure you understand exactly what the commenter is talking about, and if not, reach out to your team to see if anyone was involved with the interaction.
Respond to them promptly.
- Take the time to give them a thoughtful response. Acknowledge their experience, apologize for the circumstances, and invite them to discuss the matter privately whether through direct message or phone call.
Once resolved, ensure you update the review/comment. You can encourage the original poster to do so, but there is no harm with replying to the public comment with an update (i.e., we have touched base with Ms. Doe about X issue and are happy to announce that we have found a resolution. We thank everyone who has taken the time to share their feedback.).
There is no harm in asking for support from your condo board or marketing team. Reach out if you feel unsure of how to handle any social media-related situation.

Social media is a great tool. Being able to connect with your audiences regularly will allow you to stay at the top of their list.

Using your platforms wisely, understanding your KPIs, and managing public reviews will have you running like a well-oiled machine.

This is no easy feat. Working with a social media professional, or an online marketing professional can take some of the digital weight off your shoulders.

Luckily, there is a plethora of information and resources out there in regards to social media and your digital presence. Stay tuned for our upcoming pieces as we discuss monitoring Facebook Groups, and understanding how “brand” affects you.

Maggie Matian, Theresa Place Media
www.theresaplace.ca

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Unit Owners’ Responsibility for their Occupants:

February 10, 2022/in Educational

December 2021, York C.C. No 188 v. Caudhry, et al, 2021 ONSC 7027; & York Region C.C. No. 794 v. Watson, et al, 2021 ONSC 6574

Incessant and harassing emails, phone calls, and intimidating and threatening behaviour are all too common for condominium boards and property managers. In York C.C. No. 188 v. Chaudhry, et al, and York Region C.C. No. 794 v. Watson, et al, the Courts dealt with situations where this type of behaviour needed to be addressed and determined that these actions amounted to “dangerous activities” under section 117 of the Condominium Act, 1998 (the “Act’).

Facts

In both cases the units were occupied by the owners’ adult children. The boards and property managers were bombarded by emails, voicemails, faxes. and confronted personally by the occupants, including threats of physical violence. The occupants relentlessly accused the boards and property managers of racism, plotting criminal activities, fraud, and other false conduct. This was considered intimidating, harassing, and threatening by the condominiums.

The owners/parents of the occupants received multiple notices from the condominiums, counsel, and the police, regarding the conduct of the occupants. Despite this, the owners did not take appropriate steps to curtail the behaviour and even appeared to further the campaign. The respective condominiums were required to commence compliance applications in Court, seeking orders to curtail this egregious behaviour.

The Courts’ Findings

The Courts noted that condominiums are required to take all reasonable steps to ensure that that the owners and occupiers comply with the Act, including preventing harassing conduct. The Courts also found that incessant harassing correspondence amounted to dangerous activities, as the behaviour of the occupants was likely to cause injury to an individual. “Injury”, can include, “psychological harm that is beyond a trifling nature.” This type of behaviour, specifically when directed at a property manager, may also trigger the Occupation Health and Safety Act, as property managers are entitled to a safe and harassment-free work environment. The conduct of the occupants in the present cases is a clear example of such.

The Courts ordered the occupants to vacate the units and cease all communications with the condominiums and their property managers. Such a remedy is powerful and reserved only for the most serious of instances.

Regarding the owners, the Courts noted that section 119(2) of the Act provides that the owners themselves are responsible for taking all reasonable steps to ensure that their occupants comply. Neither owner took reasonable steps to ensure this, if any at all. As a result significant costs were awarded to the condominiums and were added to the common expenses payable for the owners’ units.

Bottom Line

Where an owner/occupant will not stop harassing and intimidating others, including incessant and threatening correspondence, the Courts have determined such is a dangerous activity, and condominiums have remedies available to them. This kind of unwarranted behaviour can amount to “psychological harm” and includes inflammatory and harassing emails and phone calls.

For those unit owners who own units occupied by problematic, and even dangerous occupants, these cases highlight the positive obligation on owners to assist in curtailing the behaviour. Failure to take appropriate and reasonable actions may lead to significant cost consequences. Unit owners cannot simply allow their unit to be occupied by others and wash their hands of any responsibility.

Are you facing a similar situation? Contact your condominium legal team today.

Christopher Mendes, Associate, B.A. (Hons), M.A., J.D.
www.svplaw.ca
*This article does not constitute legal advice, always consult legal counsel.

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Nuisances, Annoyances, or Disruptions? Take it up with the CAT

February 3, 2022/in Educational

On September 23, 2021, the Ontario Government announced that the Condominium Authority Tribunal (CAT) would have its jurisdiction expanded again in 2022. As a recap, its jurisdiction was originally limited to disputes related to record requests when it first opened its doors on November 1, 2017. On October 1, 2020, its jurisdiction was expanded to include disputes about parts of the declaration, by-laws or rules of a condominium related to 1. pets or animals; 2. vehicles, parking, and storage; and 3. indemnification of the condominium, an owner or mortgagee in relation to these disputes.

On January 1, 2022, the Condominium Act, 1998, was amended to expand the jurisdiction of the CAT to include certain nuisances. Section 117 now reads:

Prohibited conditions and activities

117(1) No person shall, through any act or omission, cause a condition to exist or activity to take place in a unit, the common elements or the assets, if any, of the corporation if the condition or the activity, as the case may be, is likely to damage the property or the assets or to cause any injury or an illness to an individual.

Same

(2) No person shall carry on an activity or permit an activity to be carried on in a unit, the common elements or the assets, if any, of the corporation if the activity results in the creation of or continuation of,

(a) any unreasonable noise that is a nuisance, annoyance or disruption to an individual in a unit, the common elements or the assets, if any of the corporation;

(b) any other prescribed nuisance, annoyance or disruption to an individual in a unit, the common elements or the assets, if any, of the corporation.

The other prescribed nuisance, annoyance, or disruptions described in subsection 117(2)(b) of the Act are described in section 26 of O.Reg. 48/01 as:

1. Odour

2. Smoke

3. Vapour

4. Light

5. Vibration

To summarize, as of January 1, 2022, the CAT’s jurisdiction now includes:

1. Noise

2. Odour

3. Light

4. Vibrations

5. Smoke

6. Vapour

The CAT’s jurisdiction will also include disputes about the governing documents in relation to “any other type of nuisance, annoyance or disruption to an individual in a unit, the common elements or the assets, if any, of the corporation.” It will be interesting to see how this sentence is interpreted by the CAT and the types of other nuisances that may ultimately be heard by the CAT. For example, originally the proposed regulations included “infestations”. Will the CAT hear these disputes?

Like with the expansion of the CAT’s jurisdiction to include pets and parking disputes, the CAT’s jurisdiction has also been expanded to include disputes about indemnification related to the nuisance dispute. There has also been much talk lately about amending the CAT’s rules regarding cost recovery during disputes as the current rules discourage proceedings because the rules limit cost recovery even where condominiums are successful in proving an owner has not complied with the documents. As a result of the limited cost recovery, many condominiums have elected to ignore infractions rather than incur legal costs to enforce the documents. (Note: condominiums ignoring infractions should seek legal advice about the possible consequences).

Lastly, while the CAT now has jurisdiction over disputes in subsection 117(2) of the Act, it should be noted that the CAT does not have jurisdiction over disputes in subsection 117(1) of the Act. These disputes typically referred to as dangerous conditions or activities, continue to be heard by the Superior Court of Justice.

Michelle Kelly
Lawyer, Robson Carpenter LLP

www.rcllp.ca

Unit Owners’ Responsibility for their Occupants:

Nuisances, Annoyances, or Disruptions? Take it up with the CAT

CONTACT CCI GRC

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