Can Condo Management wants to charge for copy of condo bylaws?

[Torey]

Hi,

I am about to rent out a condo owned by a family member.  Whilst doing my background checks on the unit, I want to obtain a copy of the condo bylaws, which my family member no longer has.

The company managing the building, wants to charge $50 for a copy.

1.  Is this standard practice?
2.  Is this even legal?
3.  Has anyone had an experience similar to this?

Thank you!

 

[suddenstyle]

I`m looking for the answer as well as I`m in the same position! Hopefully we get answers

 

[mcgregok]

Ask to see their management contract. What they are alowed to charge is their. Normally they can charge for documents.

 

[brentdavies]

The Management Company or the Condo Corp can charge for providing documents to owners and the public. Standard operating procedure. It does cost somebody money to make copies and mail it you.

You will not find any thing in the mgt agreement on charges. We used to have a standard price list, x $ for bylaws, esptoppels, and the whole package.

The Condominium Act requires the Condo Corp to provide documents on written request within a certain period, and a "reasonable fee" can be charged.

 

[Dan_Eisenhauer]

In BC the answer is definitely, yes, they can charge you for a copy. They are spending their money to copy the various documents, which should have been passed on to you by the seller.

All owners have the right to visit the management or council office to review all the documents at no cost. However, you cannot copy or remove them from the office.

 

[Torey]

It seems a little steep to charge $50 for a document file that can simply be emailed over, after meeting identification requirements. $50 for a printed document, mailed, with gold trim, delivered by angels, would make more sense, however impossible. They charge $70 for service provided in less then 5 days.

I just wanted to know if this was the nature of their "game" of creating income, and it appears to be such.

 

[invst4profit]

Is it possible to find someone with the document and copy it.

If you were to put yourself on the other side what is the value of the equipment, paper, ink, mailing, office space, staff time etc. to perform this service for those requesting the info.
If you ran the business of providing copies what would be a reasonable amount to charge. Maybe it is $50.
Everything is relative.

 

[NikZad]

I have to agree with Torey on this one. I believe management companies are taking advantage of documents that are owned by the people they are charging to receive them. Being a realtor who deals with a lot of condos I can tell you that my clients and my self have spent a lot of money on obtaining Bylaws, meeting minutes, owner occupancy, condominium plan, financial statements ect. ect. Spending $250 plus is not uncommon and personally I would rather have them send me pdf`s than print out`s which would save everyone money and a few trees.

However I think we will slowly see this practice dissapear. Alberta Real Estate ASsociation is currenlty investigating the feasibility of housing all Alberta condo documents on one easy-to-access online database, such as the Spin2 registry. Also many condo boards are creating websites that host a majority of the documents for download.

 

[brentdavies]

The bylaws are available from Land Titles, but the cost is used to be $40 plus, depending on the number of pages and fees charges. At that time we charged $30. That was a few years ago.

The Bylaws must be registrered at land titles to be legal in Alberta. Look up the masterplan for the condo corp. Change of bylaw should be on the plan as well as the current board of directors.

As a former condo manager, charging for documents was another minor source of revenue.

Take a look at your legal bill, and see how much your lawyer charges for photocoping.

 

[Thomas Beyer]

QUOTE (Torey @ Nov 6 2008, 04:35 PM) Hi,

I am about to rent out a condo owned by a family member.  Whilst doing my background checks on the unit, I want to obtain a copy of the condo bylaws, which my family member no longer has.

The company managing the building, wants to charge $50 for a copy.

1.  Is this standard practice?
2.  Is this even legal?
3.  Has anyone had an experience similar to this?

Thank you!
yes, this is not uncommon. Given the number of sales in a complex, multiplied by 3 or 4 for "offers or potential sales" is it reasonable for a management firm to do it for free ? What would you as a condo owner say if your neighbor`s condo is for sale, and the condo management firm hands out 120 page binders 3 times daily for free ? I`d say $50 is very reasonable, taking into account photocopying costs, binder and time spend @ $35/h.

What the seller could do, of course, or his/her realtor, is anticipate those requests and have those binders ready, for free ! So you could go to the seller and say: give it to me for free or I will not proceed with this purchase. Your call !