Ontario Condo Owners' Meetings Explained

Not every condo meeting is an AGM — and not every meeting in your building is an owners’ meeting at all. Ontario corporations run board meetings, annual general meetings, requisitioned owners’ meetings, and occasionally other gatherings that owners are entitled to attend.

Understanding the difference helps boards plan valid process and helps owners know when they have a right to notice, speak, and vote.

This guide explains owners’ meetings in plain language. It is educational only and does not replace advice from a qualified professional for your corporation.

What this means

An owners’ meeting is a meeting of the unit owners as a group — the membership of the condominium corporation. Major decisions that bind the corporation often require owner input, either because the Condominium Act, 1998 says so or because the declaration or bylaws require an owner vote.

The main types of owners’ meetings are:

Meeting type	Typical purpose
Annual general meeting (AGM)	Required yearly meeting — financial report, director elections, standard owner business
Requisitioned meeting	Called after owners submit a valid requisition on topics the Act allows
Other owners’ meetings	Meetings the board or Act requires outside the annual cycle — e.g., certain votes or removals

These are not the same as board meetings, where only directors (and sometimes managers or guests) discuss operations, contracts, and enforcement. Owners may attend board meetings only if the Act or your documents permit observer access — which is limited compared to owners’ meetings.

For AGM specifics, see our Ontario condo AGM guide.

When it matters

Owners’ meetings matter whenever ownership as a whole must decide or be informed:

• Electing or removing directors
• Approving audited financials and hearing reserve fund updates
• Voting on bylaw changes or other matters requiring owner approval
• Addressing requisitioned topics such as certain governance issues owners raise collectively
• Replacing a board that has lost owner confidence through lawful removal processes

When corporations confuse meeting types — holding owner votes at a board session, or skipping a requisitioned meeting — outcomes can be challenged and corporation business stalls.

Low turnout and proxy disputes at owners’ meetings also shape who effectively controls the corporation. See proxy voting challenges and our quorum guide for related issues.

Who is involved

Owners are the core participants. Each unit typically carries voting rights as defined in the declaration, subject to liens or other restrictions that may affect an owner’s ability to vote.

The board usually calls and organizes owners’ meetings, presents reports, and implements lawful decisions afterward — even when owners requisitioned the meeting.

Property management often handles logistics, registration, and notice distribution.

The chair presides over the meeting; the scrutineer validates voting where appointed.

Proxies allow owners who cannot attend to authorize another person to participate within the limits of the proxy form.

Counsel or tribunal processes may follow if owners dispute meeting validity — another reason to get notice and quorum right from the start. Review meeting notice requirements before any owners’ meeting.

Typical process

Annual general meeting

Once per fiscal year, the corporation holds an AGM within six months of year-end. The board sets the date, issues notice with audited financials and election materials, and runs the meeting if quorum is met. Detailed steps appear in how to prepare for a condo AGM.

Requisitioned owners’ meeting

When enough owners sign a valid requisition, the board must call a meeting within the time the Act requires. The requisition must usually identify the business owners want addressed. The board cannot ignore a valid requisition, though it may need legal guidance on agenda scope and timing.

Typical flow:

1. Owners submit requisition to the board or manager
2. Board confirms validity and sets meeting date
3. Notice goes to all owners with requisition items on the agenda
4. Meeting proceeds if quorum is met; votes are taken on properly noticed business

After the meeting

Minutes should record attendance, quorum, motions, and results. Director changes are filed as required. Follow-up communications help owners who did not attend understand outcomes.

Use the AGM checklist for standard owners’ meetings and the quorum calculator to track participation.

Common mistakes

Corporations and owners both stumble on owners’ meeting rules:

• Calling it a board meeting when owner votes are planned
• Ignoring or delaying requisitions without assessing validity
• Mixing agendas — adding binding votes not properly noticed
• Assuming all residents are owners — tenants and family members are not automatic voters
• Failing quorum and adjourning without a clear re-notice plan
• Weak minutes that do not support what was decided if challenged later

Boards should also avoid discussing in closed sessions what must be decided at an owners’ meeting with proper notice to all owners.

Checklist

Before any owners’ meeting:

• Confirm meeting type (AGM, requisitioned, or other) and applicable rules
• Verify requisition validity and timelines if owner-requested
• Prepare board-approved agenda with only properly noticed business
• Send complete notice per meeting notice requirements
• Include financials, election materials, and proxy forms as required
• Track quorum with the quorum calculator
• Assign chair and scrutineer; brief registration staff
• Plan adjournment and re-notice steps if quorum fails
• Prepare minutes template before the meeting starts
• Run the AGM readiness check for annual meetings

Owners’ meetings are the structural checkpoints of condo democracy — the times when the corporation’s membership meets the board’s accountability obligation head-on. Knowing which meeting you are in, and which rules apply, is the first step toward outcomes owners can accept even when they disagree.