Start The Year Off Right – Annual Checklist

Managing a condominium corporation can be overwhelming at times, making it difficult to stay on top of deadlines both outlined by The Condominium Act, and within the corporation’s administrative scope. Starting the year with an organized annual checklist will help your corporation succeed throughout the year. We’ve outlined it here for boards and managers alike;

The first step is to review the online options readily available, particularly, the CAO’s Condo Calendar Tool. This feature can be found on the CAO website under “CAO’s Condo Calendar Tool”. This free feature is easy to use and provides a plethora of important information relating to mandatory deadlines including but not limited to AGM’s, PIC’s, the fiscal year, director terms, and return filings. This provides a great foundation for your annual checklist.

The next step is to review all the corporation’s contracts and their respective terms. This should encompass all contracts, such as insurance, landscaping, waste removal, fire safety, etc. We recommend having two columns in this checklist that include expiry dates and the dates to begin sourcing alternative contracts. For instance, if the corporation’s insurance expires on May 31st 2025, and the current policy must receive 60 days notice of termination, then the corporation should document to start sourcing other quotes on March 1st 2025. This would ensure the corporation has 30 days to source a new policy, and issue the appropriate amount of notice for termination and/or non-automatic renewal.

The final step is to review all non-contract regular and/or mandated maintenance to ensure that nothing gets missed throughout the year. This can include backflow testing (depending on regional mandates), window washing, the Reserve Fund Study, budget planning, etc. This checklist should include the same format as the previous to confirm tasks are arranged in advance. This portion can also include items such as maintenance walk throughs, town hall meetings, and more. It’s important for the checklist to be a collaborative effort between the board and management to review all contracted obligations.

Example of an annual checklist:

Between these three sections; CAO mandated deadlines, contract deadlines, and annual
obligations, your corporation will have a robust and organized approach to the calendar year. At
Bloom & Co., we prepare these checklists in January each year to review with our boards.
Boards should review their contracts to confirm if annual planning and/or checklists are
encompassed within their management contract. We encourage managers to use these
checklists to their advantage and create calendar reminders for all renewal/quote sourcing
periods. Set your corporation up for success in 2025 and start your checklists now!

Written By: Michela Ferrante, OLCM, Bloom & Co. Property Management