Managing a rental condo involves the Residential Tenancies Act and the condo corporation's rules — at the same time. What to look for in a property manager who knows both.
An investor condo owner who doesn't want to self-manage their rental unit needs a property manager. The property manager finds tenants, screens them, handles the lease, manages the tenancy under the Residential Tenancies Act, coordinates maintenance and repairs (including knowing which repairs are unit owner responsibility versus the corporation's responsibility), handles rent collection, and manages the tenant relationship day-to-day.
Managing a rental unit in a condo building involves a layer of obligation that doesn't exist in a freehold rental. The tenant is subject to the condo corporation's rules as well as the RTA. The rules govern noise, move-in and move-out procedures, amenity use, pet restrictions, and a range of other conduct that can generate complaints from the board or building management. A property manager who only knows the RTA but doesn't understand condo rules will struggle to manage the relationship between tenant, owner, and corporation effectively.
When something breaks in a condo unit, the question of whose responsibility it is to fix it depends on whether it's a unit component or a common element. The unit owner is responsible for unit components. The corporation is responsible for common elements (including, typically, the fan coil unit if it's part of the central HVAC system). A property manager who knows this boundary can handle repair calls correctly instead of dispatching a contractor to fix something the corporation should be paying for.
Property managers in Toronto typically charge 8–12% of monthly rent for ongoing management, plus a placement fee (often half a month's to one month's rent) for finding and onboarding a new tenant. verify with current sources Some managers charge flat monthly fees rather than percentages. For a $2,400/month condo rental, 10% management means $240/month. The placement fee on turnover is the larger cost — so low vacancy rates and good tenant retention matter as much as the percentage fee.