Law Times

Page 10 January 22, 2018 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com New regulations in the wind Electric vehicle plan could present problems BY MARG. BRUINEMAN For Law Times A n attempt by the pro- vincial government to introduce rules allow- ing the installation of electric car chargers in condo- minium buildings could run into some problems, say lawyers. The Ontario government's Climate Change Action Plan set an electric and hydrogen pas- senger vehicle sales target of five per cent in 2020. To help accom- modate that plan, it proposes to increase access to the infrastruc- ture required to charge electric vehicles by making it easier for condo corporations to install charging stations in existing buildings. The initiatives being consid- ered as it moves toward devel- oping new regulations include lowering the level of owners' consent to allow the exchange of parking spaces, an exemp- tion for notice requirements for the installation of the chargers and equipment, require condo boards to approve an owner's request to install a charger, al- low the use of the reserve fund for the chargers and require the installation of two charging sta- tions where requested. Ottawa condo lawyer Ro- drigue Escayola, partner with Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP, says it would be difficult to im- pose the recommendations on all the existing condo buildings in Ontario because the prov- ince's estimated 700,000 condo units vary in size, shape, location and how they are managed. "You can't approach it with a cookie cutter," says Escayola. "[T]he province is attempting now to implement new regula- tions that will facilitate or twist our arm slightly toward a green- er sort of more acceptable way of living. So how do we do that when we have all these different condo corporations?" The Ministry of Govern- ment and Consumer Services launched a month-long con- sultation process in December, looking for feedback on sug- gestions on how it might make it easier for condo complexes to accommodate the use of electric cars. The province says through its latest consultation process that it might make installations in condos easier by loosening its requirements for substantive change under the Condomin- ium Act. A substantive change to common elements of a condo building represents more than 10 per cent of the annual budget and triggers the need for a vote, requiring two-thirds support of condo owners for it to go ahead. "This process makes it very difficult, even for an [environ- mentally] conscientious corpo- ration community, to implement changes. What the province is proposing are ways of minimiz- ing or reducing the kind of pro- cess that needs to be followed," says Escayola. Christopher J. Jaglowitz, who practises condominium law with Gardiner Miller Arnold LLP in Toronto, is worried that some of the suggestions bypass legislation intended to pro- tect condo owners. He says the Condo Act is created with "safe- guards and protections" to en- sure a condo corporation doesn't incur unnecessary expenses and that allocations for the various responsibilities, such as fire in- surance, are covered. "If you short-circuit some of the requirements, which is what some of these regulatory proposals aim to do, now you've created a great deal of risk for the condo corporation," he says. Among Jaglowitz's concerns is the proposal that allows condo corporations to pay for the in- stallation of chargers through reserve funds. Reserve funds are intended for major repairs and replacement of common elements and assets, which he says is a very restricted pool of money. Some of those funds, he adds, are underfunded and may not adequately cover the costs of necessary repairs. Currently, under the Condo Act, condo owners can request a meeting and vote down a pro- posal if the cost of that change is greater than one per cent of the annual budget of the con- dominium corporation. But the proposal would allow the corpo- ration to bypass that process. Jaglowitz says that the pro- posal allowing condo owners to petition the board to compel it to install chargers goes in an en- tirely new direction. "It's completely without prec- edent what the government has proposed," he says. Both those requirements might rather be tied to the finan- cial viability of the condo cor- poration, suggests Denise Lash of Lash Condo Law in Toronto. She says those proposals should apply only to boards that haven't been in a deficit position for at least two years. She would like to see condo corporations that can demon- strate they are experiencing a deficit be exempt from having to install the chargers, as well as not having to dip into their reserves. "I'm not sure imposing a re- quirement on every corporation to put in these spots — I don't know what kind of hardship that would be," she says. "If you're in a terrible shape [and] you need to do repairs, should you really be installing EV chargers?" The challenge is how any new regulations might apply to FOCUS Rodrigue Escayola says it would be difficult for the province to impose some of the recommendations related to electric car chargers on all existing condo buildings in Ontario. See Goal, page 12 18th Annual TLA Awards Reception © 2017 Thomson Reuters Canada Limited 00238SJ-88292-NP The Honourable Justice John I. Laskin will be honoured with the Toronto Lawyers Association Award of Distinction. Ian Hull will be honoured with the Honsberger Award. 18th Annual TLA Awards Reception Thursday, March 8, 2018 OMNI KING EDWARD HOTEL Vanity Fair Ballroom 37 King Street East, Toronto Reception at 6:00 p.m. Presentation to follow at 7:00 p.m. Hors d'oeuvres and food stations. Business attire is requested. tlaonline.ca/event/2018Awards Untitled-1 1 2018-01-16 9:06 AM

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