Effective December 31, 2026, significant changes to the Condo Act and its regulations will reshape the way condo owners requisition meetings. The amendments do not reinvent the process, but they add much-needed structure and clarity to an area that has often generated confusion and disputes.
Quick Roadmap
The new process is quite different from what you are used to and imposes additional deadlines to respect.
If you’re in a hurry, here’s a quick snap shot of what you need to know. The rest of the blog post expands on each of these items.
☑ Owners representing at at least 15% of the units can requisition a meeting.
☑ Owners in arrears by more than 30 days cannot sign the requisition.
☑ Requisitioned meetings can be called for the following purposes:
▪ an information meeting (with no substantive vote);
▪ the removal and election of directors; or
▪ another purpose specifically permitted by the Condominium Act or regulations.
☑ The board must respond within 20 days to confirm whether it will call the meeting.
☑ If the board declines to hold the meeting, the requisitionists have 10 days to revise their requisition and resubmit (which re-starts the entire process) or 20 days to contest the decision in court (or the CAT starting July 1, 2027). If they don’t, they are deemed to have abandoned their requisition.
☑ The meeting must be held within 40 days after the board response period expires.
☑ Requisitionists may choose to add the requisition business to the next AGM.
☑ A mandatory CAO requisition form must be used for the requisition.
Who Can Sign the Requisition?
To be valid, the requisition must be supported by owners representing at least 15% of the voting units.
Only owners can sign a requisition. Tenants cannot. In addition, if an owner’s unit has been in arrears for 30 days or more, their signature does not count towards that 15%.
Where the meeting seeks to remove or elect a director occupying the reserved position for non-leased voting units (the “owner-occupied” position), only owners of eligible non-leased voting units may support that portion of the requisition.
What Can the Requisition Be About?
Owners can requisition a meeting:
- limited to an information meeting where no substantive vote will be taken;
- to elect or remove directors; or
- for any other matter that the Condominium Act or regulations specifically permit owners to requisition.
This should reduce many of the disputes over what owners can and cannot vote on, although the third category remains broad and will likely continue to generate debate.
Suffice it to say that not all matters are subject to a vote of the owners. For instance, owners can call a vote to elect/remove directors; repeal or amend rules; or to vote on certain modifications to the common elements, assets or services of the corporation. But they don’t get to vote on repair and maintenance or on the hiring or firing of the Superintendent.
How Is the Requisition Delivered?
A requisition may be delivered:
- to the president or secretary;
- through management where authorized to accept service;
- personally, by mail, registered mail or courier;
- by depositing it at the corporation’s address or mailbox; or
- electronically if approved by resolution of the board.
Surprisingly, fax remains an approved method of delivery. Thankfully, telegraph and carrier pigeons are not permitted methods. So, there is progress.
Deadline for the Board to Respond
One of the most significant changes is the board’s obligation to formally respond.
The board must now provide a written response indicating whether it will call the meeting or whether it believes the requisition is defective. If it refuses to call the meeting, it must explain why.
The response must be delivered within 20 days. Don’t be fooled by the fact that the Condo Act refers to 10 days. The regulations extend the deadline to 20 days.
If the board does not respond, it is deemed to have agreed to call the meeting.
Requisitionists Must Name a Representative
The new mandatory form requires requisitionists to appoint one (or at most two) representatives.
These representatives become the board’s point of contact throughout the process. For instance, the board’s response must be sent to these representatives. These representatives are also the ones that can consent to the requisitioned business being added to the AGM and they are the ones who can withdraw the requisition.
If no representative is identified, the board may have to communicate with every owner who signed the requisition.
Revised Requisitions
If the board refuses to call the meeting because the requisition is defective, the requisitionists have 10 days to correct the problem and resubmit it. The revised requisition starts a new process, including a fresh 20-day response period for the board. While sensible, this may significantly extend timelines.
A requisition can only be revised once. If the revised requisition is also rejected, owners must start over with a new requisition.
The new requisition process can be much longer than the prior one. A requisition delivered on January 1 could result in a meeting being validly held on April 1st!
Withdrawn and Abandoned Requisitions
The amendments expressly recognize the right to withdraw a requisition.
The withdrawal must be made in writing by the designated representative within 15 days of the requisition being delivered.
If the board refuses to call the meeting, the requisition will be deemed abandoned unless the requisitionists:
- either revise the requisition within 10 days or
- challenge the decision within 20 days.
Starting July 1, 2027, such challenge will fall within the jurisdiction of the Condo Authority Tribunal. Until then, challenges will generally need to proceed before the Superior Court of Justice.
When Must the Meeting Be Held?
The meeting must generally be held within 40 days after the board’s response period expires.
Because the board has up to 20 days to respond, a requisitioned meeting may therefore not occur until 60 days after the requisition is delivered (or longer if the requisition is revised after the board’s answer).
Alternatively, requisitionists can request (or later consent) to have their business be added to the agenda of the next AGM, but only if the AGM is at least 40 days away. In practical terms, a requisition submitted after the AGM preliminary notice has been given to owners will be too late to be added to that AGM.
Mandatory Requisition Form
Until now, the CAO’s proposed form was not mandatory. Requisitionists could create their own form. This will no longer the case, with the CAO’s form become mandatory.
Final Thoughts
POSITIVE CHANGES
Overall, these amendments bring welcome clarity to the requisition process. They establish clearer rules regarding who can requisition meetings, what business can be discussed, how requisitions are delivered, how boards must respond, and the timelines that apply to both sides.
The addition of a mandatory board response and of requisitionists representatives allow for more communications between the “two camps”.
SOME GAPS
The entire process between the requisition and the meeting will go from 35 days to 60 days (or 90 days if the requisition is revised). This is a little long in my view. While the 20 days window to respond is far better than the currently existing 5 days, I suspect 10 days or so could have been sufficient.
I would have also reduced the second response time (to a revised requisition). Having 20 days twice to revise what would essentially be the same requisition can unduly stretches the process to 40 days.
Some gaps remain, particularly regarding owners who change their minds after signing a requisition. It is unfortunate that the rules don’t set out a process for individual withdrawals which could lead to the corporation not having to call a meeting if the number of signatures fell below the threshold.
Still, the new regime should make requisitioned meetings more predictable and easier to navigate for owners, boards, and managers alike.
Please remember that this only comes into effect on December 31. Until then, you must continue with the old process currently in place.
