June 6, 2023

The Hon. Kaleed Rasheed
Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery
5th Floor, 777 Bay Street 
Toronto, ON M7A 2J3

Dear Minister Rasheed;

We are writing to urge the Ministry of Public & Business Service Delivery to take steps to increase the prescribed fee for a Status Certificate per section 18 of Ontario Regulation 48/01.

Over the last 30+ years the Status Certificate (previously known as Estoppel) has evolved from a document providing potential condo owners with a snapshot of the financial position of the condo corporation, to what today is a vital tool for consumer protection. Unfortunately, the $100 prescribed fee for Status Certificates has remained unchanged throughout this period.

Producing a status certificate takes several hours pulling information from several sources including but not limited to the declaration, budget, financial statements, accounting software, reserve fund study, and periodic information certificates, followed by several levels of review prior to issuance. Failure to complete the certificate properly can result in legal liability as seen in the recent case decision in Bruce v. Waterloo North Condominium Corporation wherein the owner was exempt from a special assessment due to a deficient Status Certificate.

We respectfully request that you take action to modify the regulations to increase the prescribed fee for a status certificate to better align with the time and cost to prepare them and suggest that a fee of $500 would be more appropriate today. Also, to ensure the fee is kept up to date with the requirements under the Condominium Act, we would suggest wording be added to the regulation to provide for periodic review and adjustment every 3 years.

If you have any questions about this issue or wish to discuss, please contact us. Thank you for your consideration.

Best Regards,

Paul MacDonald
Executive Director of ACMO

Eric Plant
President of ACMO