Condo boards are created to protect the interests of the corporation and its owners. They set rules, approve budgets, hire contractors, and make decisions that affect everyone in the building. Good governance is the backbone of a well-run condo — but sometimes, the very structures designed to ensure accountability become the biggest obstacle to getting things done.
The Paradox of Over-Governance
It usually starts with good intentions. A board wants to be thorough, so they require three quotes for every repair. They want to be transparent, so every decision goes to a committee. They want to be fair, so every complaint triggers a formal review process. Before long, a leaking pipe waits three weeks for approval, a simple landscaping fix requires a special meeting, and owners are frustrated that nothing ever gets done.
This is the paradox of over-governance: the more process you add, the less effective your governance becomes.
Signs Your Board Has Crossed the Line
- Decision fatigue: Board members are burned out from voting on minor operational details.
- Slow response times: Routine maintenance requests take weeks because they require board approval.
- Paralysis by committee: Every issue gets referred to a subcommittee that never reports back.
- Micromanagement of management: The board second-guesses every decision made by the property manager.
- Owner frustration: Residents feel like nothing ever gets resolved.
The Role of the Property Manager
One of the most common governance mistakes is failing to clearly define the boundary between the board's role and the property manager's role. The board sets policy and direction. The property manager executes. When boards start managing day-to-day operations — approving every vendor invoice, directing contractors directly, or overriding the property manager's judgment on routine matters — they undermine the very person they hired to run the building.
A well-functioning board trusts its property manager to handle operational decisions within an agreed framework, and reserves its energy for strategic decisions: budget approval, major capital projects, bylaw amendments, and policy changes.
How to Find the Right Balance
The solution isn't less governance — it's smarter governance. Here's how high-performing boards do it:
- Define spending thresholds: Allow the property manager to approve expenditures up to a set amount (e.g., $2,500) without board approval. Reserve board votes for larger or unbudgeted items.
- Use consent agendas: Group routine approvals into a single consent agenda item so meetings focus on items that actually require discussion.
- Delegate clearly: Document what the property manager can decide independently, what requires board notification, and what requires board approval.
- Review, don't re-decide: When the property manager brings a recommendation, the board's job is to ask good questions — not to re-do the analysis from scratch.
- Trust the process: If you've hired a qualified property manager and set clear expectations, let them manage.
The Bottom Line
Governance exists to protect the corporation — not to slow it down. The best boards are ones that set clear direction, hire capable people, and then get out of the way. If your board is spending more time approving minor repairs than discussing the five-year capital plan, it's time to recalibrate.
At MVP Condos, we work with boards to establish governance frameworks that are rigorous where they need to be and efficient everywhere else. The result: faster decisions, happier owners, and a board that can focus on what actually matters.