What is the Condominium Management Regulatory Authority of Ontario (CMRAO)?

Have you ever heard of the Condominium Management Regulatory Authority of Ontario, otherwise known as the CMRAO? If not, you’re not alone! This organization, a provincially legislated regulatory body, oversees condominium management companies and individual managers alike. Their intention? To protect condo owners and occupants by ensuring their property managers are adequately educated, licensed, and complying with CMRAO rules and regulations. 

Let’s learn more about the CMRAO and how it operates.

What is the CMRAO?

Established under Ontario’s Ministry of Government and Consumer Services (MGCS), the CMRAO operates on a self-funded basis and must follow MGCS regulatory compliances. As Ontario’s condo industry continues to bloom and thrive, the ministry and regulatory body work together to ensure managers and management companies responsible for condo developments are being responsible, transparent, and putting the best interests of unit owners first. The CMRAO was initiated in 2015 as a direct response to an exhaustive 18-month review of Ontario’s condominium laws, in order to address a lack of sufficient regulation and consumer protection. To learn more about the legislation in question, the Condominium Management Services Act, you can read it here.

What the CMRAO Does

The CMRAO regulates a variety of processes pertaining to condo ownership and management. These include the following and more:

• Ensuring proper licensing is secured, validated, and renewed whenever required by provincial law. 
• Enforces compliance with regulations and code of ethics, among other prerequisites for licensed condo development operation and management.
• Offers thorough management education programming curriculum, including roadmap and course blueprints (found here).
• Public registry of licensed condominium management firms as well as individual managers, enabling condominium directors and unit owners to search for specific condo management individuals or organizations to confirm license status and number.

Training

The CMRAO takes the education of condo management personnel seriously; a comprehensive and informed understanding is essential in ensuring current and future owners are looked after with appropriate operational standards and rules are strictly enforced. Working with the public interest firmly in mind, the regulatory body has its own official Code of Ethics, which managers and management organizations must adhere to at all times. This is also an essential resource for condo owners, affording greater transparency into their rights. 

Complaints

Putting the needs and wellbeing of condo residents first, the CMRAO has a complaint submission process in place. The information submitted in a complaint is used to conduct mediation between the resident and the condo manager as well as to inform any potential investigations into the way they operate. These complaints are all handled in full accordance with the aforementioned Condominium Management Services Act. 

Compliance

The CMRAO enforces a number of rules drafted up by the provincial government. They include the following:

• The ability to refuse, revoke, suspend, or apply specific terms and/or conditions to a management license
• Notices of application refusal, explaining the rationale behind the decision based on Ontario regulation 123/17
• Lists of individuals and/or organizations that didn’t renew a license
• Any specific charges and/or convictions laid by the CMRAO against management

Resources

The CMRAO also provides a variety of helpful resources for condominium managers, including:

• Glossary with terms used frequently by the CMRAO regarding management licensing
• COVID-19 Resources
• Electric Vehicle Charging Station Resources
• Video Gallery, with educational clips on records management, using proxies and proxy forms, procurement best practices, and much more

Medallion Capital Group is a CMRAO licensed condominium management provider. If you’re interested in learning more about how the CMRAO operates, or if you have any specific questions about your condominium for our team, we would be happy to assist you. Reach out to us today to get started!