On October 8, 2026, the Community Associations Institute hosted The CAT’s Out of the Bag: New Rules, New Tools, New Territory, a webinar examining the changing role of Ontario’s Condominium Authority Tribunal (“CAT”). The discussion came at a particularly important time. On October 1, CAT launched a new online platform and brought into force substantially revised Rules of Practice. At the same time, further legislative reforms are on the horizon, including changes to owner-requisitioned meetings at the end of 2026 and an expansion of CAT’s jurisdiction in July 2027.
Together, these developments reflect the continuing evolution of condominium dispute resolution in Ontario. The CAT is no longer simply the relatively narrow records tribunal that commenced operations in 2017. It has become an increasingly important forum for resolving condominium disputes and, as its jurisdiction grows, boards, managers and owners will need to pay close attention to both its procedures and its decisions.
CAT: An Overview
CAT is Canada’s first fully online tribunal and was established to provide condominium communities with a faster, less expensive and more accessible alternative to traditional court proceedings. Its jurisdiction is prescribed by the Condominium Act, 1998 and its regulations and currently encompasses condominium records and various disputes involving pets, vehicles, parking and storage, nuisances and certain indemnification or chargeback provisions.
The Tribunal uses a three-stage dispute resolution model.
Stage 1 is Negotiation, during which the parties attempt to resolve the dispute directly through CAT’s online system. Stage 2 is Mediation, where a CAT Member assists the parties in exploring a resolution. Stage 3 is Adjudication, where a CAT Member considers the evidence and submissions and issues a binding decision. The process is conducted online and allows parties to participate asynchronously, rather than requiring conventional in-person hearings.
The filing fees remain deliberately modest: $25 to commence an application, $50 to proceed to mediation and $125 to proceed to adjudication, for a total of $200 if a matter proceeds through all three stages.
The scale of CAT’s accumulated jurisprudence is also becoming significant. As noted in the webinar invitation, CAT has now released more than 1,000 decisions. That growing body of decisions increasingly informs how condominium corporations approach enforcement, records requests, nuisance complaints and other disputes before they ever reach the Tribunal.
New Rules of Practice
The webinar devoted considerable attention to the revised Rules of Practice that took effect on October 1, 2026. Released together with the new online platform, the rules aim to make the process easier to follow and to reduce notice-related administration, while giving parties firmer timelines and a more predictable approach to costs.
Notification is one area where the change will be felt in practice. Previously, a respondent who failed to engage with a case could prompt a series of separate notices before the matter moved forward. Where a respondent does not join voluntarily, a single paper Notice of Case will now ordinarily take the place of that sequence.
The rules also give the CAT better tools to catch problems at the front end. For certain kinds of applications, supporting documents must now be provided when the application is filed. As a result, applications that are incomplete, or that fall outside the Tribunal’s jurisdiction, may be flagged before time and resources are committed to them.
For condominium corporations, the revised approach to costs may be the most significant change. Under the prior rules, legal fees and disbursements were generally not awarded absent exceptional circumstances. That express restriction is now gone. Under the new rules, a CAT Member may direct one party to pay some or all of another party’s costs, including costs tied to unreasonable conduct, an improper purpose, delay or added expense. That is not to say that full legal costs will become the norm. The change does, however, widen the discretion available to CAT Members, and parties should expect that unreasonable conduct in a proceeding is more likely to carry a financial cost than it did before.
A New CAT Platform
The new online platform also went live on October 1, 2026. Cases filed on or after that date are handled on the new system and governed by the new Rules of Practice, while applications started earlier stay on the legacy platform under the rules that applied when they were commenced. For a time, then, CAT will be running two parallel systems.
Among the platform’s stated objectives are clearer information on whether a dispute is within CAT’s jurisdiction, improved guidance for applicants preparing their filings, a quicker and more responsive interface, simpler notices and a stronger technical base for later enhancements.
Given this split, the date a proceeding was commenced matters. Before responding to any CAT matter, practitioners and corporations should first confirm whether it was commenced before or after October 1, 2026, since that date decides which platform and which Rules apply.
Who Should Represent a Corporation at CAT?
The role of condominium managers in CAT proceedings has also been clarified.
Under new Rules of Practice, a party may be represented by a lawyer or paralegal licensed by the Law Society of Ontario, or by someone exempt from the Law Society’s licensing requirements. The Condominium Management Regulatory Authority of Ontario (“CMRAO”) has taken the position that condominium managers may support their clients in CAT proceedings but should not act as their representatives before the Tribunal.
That distinction is important. Managers may continue to perform administrative and evidentiary functions, such as assembling records and correspondence, preparing factual chronologies, coordinating witnesses and providing evidence concerning matters within their personal knowledge. They should not, however, make legal submissions, advance legal arguments, interpret legal rights or obligations, negotiate legal positions or otherwise act as the corporation’s advocate.
Owners remain able to represent themselves, and the Condominium Authority of Ontario (the “CAO”) continues to offer resources directed to self-represented parties. From a condominium corporation’s perspective, however, the clearer division between management assistance and legal advocacy means boards should consider representation early and clearly authorize the individual who will act for the corporation.
Looking Beyond Litigation: Community Mediation
Another noteworthy webinar topic was the CAO’s proposed Community Mediation Pilot. As discussed during the program, the initiative is expected to focus on interpersonal disputes between neighbours within condominium communities rather than conventional legal adjudication. Participation would be entirely voluntary, and the initiative is anticipated to use volunteer mediators who are not necessarily condominium-law specialists, with a tentative launch anticipated in spring or summer 2027.
The significance of this initiative lies in its focus. Many condominium disputes have a legal component but are fundamentally rooted in deteriorating relationships between neighbours.
A voluntary mediation process focused on the interpersonal relationship could therefore fill an important gap. It would not replace CAT, mandatory mediation under section 132 of the Condominium Act, 1998, or the courts. Rather, it could provide an additional opportunity to address a dispute before legal positions become entrenched.
Legislative Changes: A Broader Role for CAT
On July 1, 2027, the CAT enters further new territory. Its jurisdiction will expand to encompass specified disputes relating to owners’ meetings, including whether corporations have held meetings when required, whether proper notices were delivered within applicable timelines, whether those notices contained prescribed information and, in certain circumstances, whether requisitioning owners should be reimbursed for reasonable costs after a corporation fails to call a required meeting.
There are important limits. CAT will not acquire general jurisdiction over everything occurring at an owners’ meeting. Disputes concerning how votes were conducted, proxies and ballots will remain outside the new jurisdiction.
Also effective July 1, 2027, CAT’s maximum damages jurisdiction in eligible cases will increase to $50,000, strengthening the Tribunal’s remedial authority and further increasing the practical significance of CAT proceedings for condominium corporations.
The CAT Continues to Evolve
Nine years after its creation, CAT is entering another important phase. The October 2026 Rules and technology changes are more than a cosmetic redesign. They signal a maturing tribunal with greater procedural sophistication, clearer expectations regarding representation and increased adjudicative discretion regarding costs. The forthcoming legislative reforms will further enlarge CAT’s role in Ontario condominium governance.
The broader lesson for condominium communities is equally important. Effective dispute resolution should not begin at Stage 1 of a CAT application. Clear communication, properly documented decisions, early identification of conflict and meaningful efforts to resolve disagreements before positions harden remain the most effective tools available to boards, managers and owners.