The Honourable Kevin O�Brien, Minister of Government Services, provided detail today in the House of Assembly on the new proposed Condominium Act, which is a complete reworking of outdated legislation.

"Since we began the process to update the Condominium Act, we knew that there would be extensive work to provide legislation that better reflects today�s standards," said Minister O�Brien. "The current act was drafted in 1975 and was intended to regulate the condominium industry within the province to ensure consumer protection. Since then, there has been much growth and change in condominium developments and it is important the legislation is updated to reflect these changes."

The proposed legislation will better reflect the current needs of today�s marketplace and provide potential and current owners with modernized legislation. It will provide protection for first-time condo buyers and present owners, improve the day-to-day operation of condominiums and reflect different types of condominium developments.

The new proposed act is a result of extensive consultations which were highly successful and included thoughtful and important input from all participating stakeholders. The consultations included public sessions in Labrador City, Corner Brook, Grand Falls-Windsor, Gander, Clarenville, Mount Pearl and St. John�s.

"The department received 27 written submissions from a wide range of groups including credit unions, condominium corporations, management companies, municipalities, developers, real estate agents, lawyers and insurance companies," said Minister O�Brien. "In particular, I would like to acknowledge the tremendous input we received from the Newfoundland and Labrador Chapter of the Canadian Institute of Condominiums. This group was highly active in requesting the current legislation be updated."

The province currently has approximately 100 registered condominiums with the majority in St. John�s.

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Media contact:

Vanessa Colman-Sadd
Director of Communications
Department of Government Services
709-729-4860, 682-6593
vanessacolmansadd@gov.nl.ca