I decided to read the 80 page report from Ontario's Auditor General about Condos. In this thread I'll share what struck me as interesting... /1

Mentions 890,000 condo units in Ontario.
And 11,350 condo boards
So average of 78 units per building. /2

2018 Stats Can data on "condominium apartments" (remember townhouses can also have condo ownership) says:
86% are owned by individuals
14% by non-individuals or businesses (like rental companies, construction firms, finance companies) /3

"in Ontario 57% of condo apartments are occupied by these individual owners. This suggests that the other 43% of condo apartments are more likely to be either used as a secondary property, rented out or vacant."
That seems high to me, especially if it's across the province. /4

This, which is part of why developers get the reputation of being slimy. /5

And this. Because it's more attractive on the salesroom floor with lower ownership costs projected. /6

Sounds like more teeth would be nice:
"The Condo Authority lacks the ability to inspect
or investigate potential abuses or misconduct by condo boards, or to investigate non-compliance and
enforce compliance with the relevant legislation
and regulations." /7

The findings of the AG report were based on results from TWO SURVEYS:
- one to selected condo owners
- another to selected condo boards
Response rates were between 20% and 31%. /8

Here are some of the significant findings. Condo fees understated in majority of cases. /9

The ranges here are too ridiculous to get any good quantification out of, but looks like most boards (that responded to survey) had to reserve fund amounts over what was budgeted. /10

44,000 is a helluva lot of people getting management services from unlicensed people/companies. If I was a resident I'd like my board to check this. /11

I'd also want my directors to have the training they're supposed to have. /12

They found directors sitting on 30 boards! Of course there's no transparency to this.
They found 1,083 directors were serving on multiple condo boards, involved in overseeing 2,160 condo corps (19%) and 210,160 units (24%) in Ontario. /13

Condos first came about in 1967 in Ontario. May surprise you that the peak year for new registrations (judging by how many cranes you see these days) was in 1990 - by far. I put the median age of an Ontario condo bldg at about 22 (looks like reach half of 11,354 around 1998). /14

They must be building buildings with more units now because median age of Ontario condo UNIT seems to be about 16 (I'm estimating reach 445K about 2004). /15

Toronto has 23% of the condo corps, and 41% of the units in the province. Makes the average units/bldg be 140 for Toronto (opposed to 78 province-wide). /16

Condo Corps in "Central Ontario" actually outnumber Toronto 4348 (38%) to 2624 (23%). Biggest regions for units are:
Peel (incl. Mississauga, Brampton): 97K
York (incl. Markham, Vaughan, Richmond Hill): 72K

But more units in 416 (367K) than Central (294K). /17

Interestingly, the survey was sent out only to condo boards in buildings registered in 1980, 2000, and 2016 "in order to include condo buildings of varying ages" But specific varying ages, it appears.
Sent out 691, got 220 responses (31%). /18

Also sent out surveys to 4500 owners, got 903 responses (20%). Nearly 1 in 5 of them were not living in their units.
14% long term rental
5% family member or empty
Nobody had short term rental? /19

More to come... likely in separate thread. /10