Conducting An Engaging Condo AGM

A lot of condo unit owners assume that well-built and well-managed condominiums are already good, thus they tend to miss condominium annual general meetings (AGM). This is the norm for the majority of the condo unit owners and shareholders. However, that should not be the case. Like any other annual general meeting, condo AGMs provide necessary information about the year’s activities and business of the council towards the progress of the condominium units.

As owners and other stakeholders have the tendency to neglect attending condo AGMs, plus the shift to remote meetings, this challenges the condominium corporations to ensure attendance and participation during annual general meetings.

What are condominium AGMs?

Condominium annual general meetings are conducted by condominium corporations to provide owners with financial and annual reports. This meeting also is the time for investors and owners to express their opinions about the challenges and improvements they want to apply.

The attendees of condo AGMs are the management council members, the condo owners, and other relevant stakeholders, such as the investors. According to the Condominium Property Act in Canada, the first annual general meeting must be convened no later than 12 months after the registration of the condominium plan. Subsequent AGMs should be held no later than 15 months after the previous annual general meeting.

Condominium owners have higher involvement in these meetings than other stakeholders, as they are the ones who have first-hand experiences of the facilities and the management of the council. It is essential that they attend the condo AGM because the condominium board reports on matters such as the financial health, actions, and plans of the management.

Being engaged in condo AGM will not only let owners be informed of the plans and progress of the corporation board, but also allow owners to push for resolutions about their concerns in the corporation management, facilities, and other matters relevant to the business. Thus, condominium AGM is a primary way to ensure the accountability of the condo board of directors to the investors and owners.

What are the requirements of condo annual general meetings?

Similar to annual general meetings by listed companies and other industries, condominium AGMs follow certain requirements and meeting flow that standardize the AGM for the attendees.

Notice of the AGM

A condominium AGM will only be deemed valid if the notice of the AGM has been sent out to owners, investors, and occupiers according to the prescribed timeline of the Condominium Property Act. The Act strictly sets timelines for condominium corporations in holding AGMs and other meetings. Under Section 30 of the Act, the condo AGM must be held no later than 12 months after the registration of the business.

The meeting notice is a requirement for all condominium corporations, regardless of the AGM conducted in a physical venue, remotely, or blended.

Condominium Annual General Meeting Flow

Analogous to AGMs for other sectors and industries, condo annual general meetings also require an agenda that guides the course of the meeting. The items usually discussed in the condo AGM are as follows:

• Approval of the previous condo AGM’s meeting minutes
• Presentation of audited financial reports (usually led by the auditor)
• Selection of next fiscal year’s corporation auditor
• Presentation of the board’s report (includes projects, performance, issues, and changes)
• Election of the new board of directors or council

Required Documents

Under the Condominium Property Act, certain documents and procedures are required and recommended in conducting annual general meetings. Apart from the notice of the meeting, agenda, and the audited financial statements, here are other documents needed to support the meeting flow.

• Information Circular (often included in the notice — shows the process of conducting the AGM)
• Minutes of the previous AGM
• Disclosure statements of candidates
• A copy of the text of subsection 29 (1) of the Condominium Act and section 11.6 of the regulations
• Proxy forms
• Directors’ reports
• Motions and Resolutions
• Other materials requested by at least 15% of the owners

Voting, Proxy, and Quorum

At condo annual general meetings, only one vote is allowed per unit. This means that if an owner co-owns a unit with one or more persons, the vote of their unit must represent the majority.

A proxy is a person or authority that represents a shareholder, owner, or investor in the condo AGM, where they are able to attend the meeting, cast votes, and participate in the board’s election on the owner’s behalf. Consequently, a proxy must be named and granted by the represented owner through a written and signed document.

Quorum is the minimum number of owners and represented condo units that are required to attend and participate in the meeting, including proxies represented by absent shareholders. When quorum requirements are not met, no vote is allowed to take place, though discussions on business matters can still take place. The quorum in AGMs must be established in order to respect the legitimacy and integrity of the voting procedure for the condo unit owners. Moreover, having no meeting quorum can negatively impact the corporation’s business as decisions will be delayed without the majority of the condo owners being represented.

For condominium AGMs, the standard quorum is 25% of the owned units in the condo corporation are present, regardless of the number of owners.

Conducting virtual Condo AGMs

Attending and participating in a physical condominium AGM has been necessary for owners to validate the transparency and accountability of the management regarding the condo corporation. In addition, it has been a direct avenue for owners to voice out their concerns on their welfare. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the way corporations conduct the AGM.

For many, condo AGMs will serve as a mass gathering — letting hundreds of unit owners meet in a single area for several hours. This might pose a high risk for the attendees to contract the virus due to the number of owners and the proximity of sitting. Because of health concerns, the Canadian government passed the Response and Reforms Act of 2020 to amend the current Condominium Act of 1998 in conducting AGMs amid the pandemic.

Under the Canadian bylaws, condo corporations can hold their annual general meetings by telephonic or electronic means provided owners can attend, take part, and vote like they would during a physical AGM. The Condominium Act defines electronic means as any medium that enables users to communicate with each other instantaneously using digital devices — in short, allowing condo corporations to administer condo AGMs in a virtual setting.

Fortunately, digital solutions have now evolved and can cater to virtual and hybrid annual general meetings for these instances where physical contact has been restricted. Online platforms are now readily available to help uphold the integrity of condominium AGMs even through electronic means — through virtual or hybrid setups.

Engaging condominium AGMs with a digital platform

One challenge for condominium management, even pre-pandemic, is to improve the attendance and engagement of unit owners and investors. The physical AGMs have been experiencing the same concerns — because of the hassles brought by physical attendance. With virtual AGMs, this challenge should now be minimized, if not eliminated.

Digital AGM solutions, like ConveneAGM, provide an end-to-end workflow that benefits condominium corporations. Apart from minimizing the risk of physical contact, virtual AGMs allow convenience for unit owners and investors — they would not have to leave their homes or units to attend the meeting. This translates to easier registration, as everything will be done virtually. Consequently, the condo board of directors or management would experience an increase in attendees — owners won’t have to experience the hassle of traveling leading them to miss condo AGMs.

However, such an advantage is not enough to encourage attendance and engagement from unit owners. What they need is an enhanced and seamless experience during annual general meetings. The best virtual AGM platforms must be packed with essential features that can effectively facilitate the AGM proceedings.

First of all, the virtual AGM platform must adhere to the regulations set by the local government where the condominium has been established. This will authorize and validate the essence of the condo AGM. The best practice is to always check the reinforcements of legal guidelines, such as the Condominium Act or state bylaws.

Condominium corporations are encouraged to adopt a remote-first approach, even when conducting hybrid AGMs. The AGM solution must be able to conduct a live webcast with minimal delays. This will ensure that the presentation of reports and discussion will go seamless, especially for instances when owners need to express their concerns on the condominium facilities and business.

To empower engagement during these meetings, the virtual AGM solution must be able to cater live Q&A to the owners and the board of directors. ConveneAGM allows two methods to conduct these discussions: owners can send their questions via text or video call. With such options, owners can embody their opinions, especially on resolutions during the meeting. A key to a dynamic discussion in condo AGMs is to facilitate a fair Q&A procedure. This includes managing the questions to filter out duplicates and related questions, entertaining an equal number of questions from in-person, textual , or video queries, and alloting time for each question during the actual meeting.

Virtual AGMs should also harbor live voting. Giving unit owners and investors the access to vote and see the results instantly foster transparency and accountability — inspiring involvement and engagement from condo unit owners. Furthermore, a secure virtual AGM platform can invite more interaction from the participants, as they are guaranteed that their data is protected and safe.

Read: Your Guide to Online AGMs

ConveneAGM is an end-to-end solution for annual general meetings of corporations and businesses in any setting — whether physical, virtual, or hybrid. Built with powerful and compliant tools, ConveneAGM protects the essence and integrity of condominium AGMs while promoting engagement among the unit owners during these challenging times. Schedule a consultation with us today.