Hello fellow condo owners,

I recently purchased a re-sale condo in a 10 yr building and am renovating it before moving.

The management office is giving me grief regarding the kind of underpadding that needs to be used for the laminate floor that I plan to install, despite I getting the most expensive one from Rona, which is advertised as being suitable for condo's and a popular brand.

The management office gives out some few year old 2 sample underpads which are of inferior quality and just says get something like these. None of those samples are sold in either Rona or Home Depot.

My argument with them has been that they cannot give samples and say get something like this, but give the technical specs that are used as an industry standard when descrbing an underpad...things like the insulation rating, sound proof rating, thickness, moisture obsorption.

I am still fighting this out with them.

Meanwhile I also read the 100's of pages of rules/by-laws and did not find a single thing there mentioned regarding the so called "corporations requirements" regarding the underpadding. Verbally the management office also told me there is nothing there, so I asked them then there is no by-law. I have now asked them in writing to provide me what by-law describes the requirement and also give the specs for the underpad in industry standard terms.

The funny thing is that the same underpad is already approved for installation and used in the rental condo unit that I currently rent there. I did not want to put my current landlord in trouble, so did not want to use that to argue, until I exhaust all other options.

Do any of you have any such by-laws ? If there is no by-law, then can they do anything if I still go ahead and install it ?

Having lived and owned a condo and been in the board of directors (still in board), I would suggest you to take permission from the management and the board. Read by-laws thoroughly. Management would not permit you to do any thing beyond by-laws, if you will seek its permission. Without permission you can do whatever you wish but once it comes to the management's notice you will have to face consequences..

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DP JAIN, CPA, CGA, CPA (US), CA(I), LL.B.(I)
416-305-0080
(Loans, Mortgage, Tax, Accounting, Investments)