Communication Matters: How Better Communication Saves Your Condo Community

Poor communication is the root cause of more condominium disputes than almost anything else. When owners don't know what's happening, they fill the gap with assumptions — and assumptions are usually worse than the truth.

What Good Communication Looks Like

Proactive, not reactive. Good management communicates before owners have to ask. If a major repair is coming, owners should hear about it before they see the contractor's truck. If fees are increasing, the explanation should come with the notice.

Clear and plain. Condo communications don't need to be written in legal language. Clear, plain language that owners can actually understand is more effective than formal notices that nobody reads.

Consistent. Owners who receive regular updates — even brief ones — feel more connected to their community and are less likely to escalate minor concerns.

Accessible. Different owners prefer different channels. A combination of email, posted notices, and an owner portal reaches more people than any single channel alone.

The Cost of Poor Communication

When owners feel uninformed, they:

  • Call and email management repeatedly, creating work for everyone
  • Attend board meetings with complaints that could have been addressed earlier
  • Escalate to the CAT or other dispute resolution bodies
  • Lose trust in the board and management
  • Become less cooperative with rules and requests

None of this is inevitable. Most of it can be prevented with consistent, clear communication.

For Boards

Your management provider should be communicating on your behalf — but you set the tone. Boards that value transparency and communicate openly with owners create communities where management is easier.

Consider an annual owner survey. Ask owners what they want to know more about, how they prefer to receive information, and what their biggest concerns are. The answers are usually instructive.

For Owners

If you feel uninformed, ask. Contact management through the official channel and ask for the information you need. If you're not getting responses, raise it at a board meeting.

Communication is a two-way street. Owners who engage constructively get better results than those who complain without engaging.

The communities that work best are the ones where everyone — board, management, and owners — communicates clearly and in good faith.