Hidden Cameras in the Common Areas of Condominiums
A condominium board has authority to cooperate with the police but only to a reasonable extent. As the Court of Appeal for Ontario tells us in R. v. Yu, 2019 ONCA 942, what is reasonable is informed by the constitutionally-protected reasonable privacy expectations of those who reside at the condominium. Under provincial law, a condominium corporation has a statutory duty to administer the common elements and to manage the property of the corporation on behalf of the owners. [FN1] The board is elected by the owners to manage these affairs in their best interests. [FN2] This statutory duty confers a responsibility and authority on the board to act as the decision maker for the owners as a collective. R. v. Yu , at para. 91. The condominium board and, by extension, property management, are entrusted with security of the building and the residents. Residents reasonably expect that a property manager could consent to police entry into the building and its hall...