'No one has $70,000 lying around': Toronto condo owners facing massive special assessment

The owners of a North York condominium say they are facing a $70,000 special assessment to fix their building's parking garage.

“$70,000 is a lot of money. It makes me very nervous and stressed out of nowhere for this huge debt to come in," said Ligeng Guo.

Guo said he bought a unit in the complex at 869 Wilson Avenue five years ago. He said the possible bill is also difficult for him to imagine paying because he doesn’t have a parking spot in the garage.

According to Guo, he received a notice from the property management company that looks after the complex which said a possible repair to the building’s parking garage may require a $7 million loan to be taken by the condo or a special assessment of $70,000 each for about 100 unit holders.

When CTV News Toronto showed up to the building, other unit holders also expressed concerns about the building’s potential repair costs especially since the building is only seven years old.

“No one has $70,000 lying around so it's hard to even fathom what we have to do," said condo owner Augustine Ogditi.

Another condo owner Elvin Aoegria said “The cost of living is through the roof, inflation is through the roof and you're putting these things (added costs) into our responsibilities."

CTV News toured the parking garage with owners and while it’s hard to see from looking at the parking garage that it may require extensive repairs, engineers have advised the condo board water penetration is causing a serious structural risk.

When CTV News reached out to the condo board Patrick Greco, partner with Shilbley Righton LLP Barristers and Solicitors said he was speaking on behalf of the Toronto Standard Condominium Corporation No. 2579 and in a statement said “The Board has worked and continues to work with the Condominium’s professional engineers to investigate garage deficiencies and to consider repair options. How the garage may appear to the layperson is irrelevant to a professional engineering analysis, upon which the Board must rely.”

“The Condominium’s engineers have advised that water penetration into the concrete garage roof slab poses a serious structural risk which must be addressed. The Board takes this issue extremely seriously, especially in the wake of the deadly 2021 condominium collapse in Surfside, Florida, which was similarly caused. The Board is tasked with ensuring that necessary repair work takes place, even if the difficult decisions it makes are unpopular with owners.”

“The Board members empathize with owners’ frustration over the estimated repair costs; they are unit owners themselves and will have to pay their shares. However, they cannot let that interfere with their primary duty to keep the property safe.”

Some reasons for special assessments in condos include repairing roofs, exterior glass walls, balconies, foundations and parking garages.

In this complex where owners are facing the parking garage issue many are also concerned that they’re being rushed to make a decision involving such a large amount of money.

“What we are hoping for is a little more transparency, a little more time and a little more options,” said condo owner Adam Lipowitz.

Days after CTV News contacted the condo board we were contacted again by their legal representative Patrick Greco who said in an additional statement “Construction deficiency repairs are still required. However, upon hearing the numerous questions from owners at last Friday’s town hall meeting, the Board has decided it would be in everyone’s best interests to reschedule the vote to a later date to permit owners more time to review the matter and consider their options prior to voting.”

Owners said they were pleased to hear there would be a delay to give them more time to assess the situation.

“We are very relieved and very happy as this will give us more time to assess the whole thing so it’s really great news for all of us,” said Guo.

Many condominiums like to keep maintenance fees as low as possible but this could cause issues when you need to do a major repair. When buying a condo, it’s always advisable to check it's financials carefully and see if any special assessments are pending.