Window & Patio Door Program

Update: As of an April 2017 revision, the Board of Directors has announced a change to this program. The existing program will be terminated Dec. 31, 2017. I am sure that copies of the March 30th letter from the Board will be available on the Newton Trelawney YCC367 site (although at the time of this posting the site was devoid of any content). Essentially the Board is reverting to the commitment as determined by the Declaration (specifically Schedule C). Not sure why it took two lawyers to convince the Board, but this is their right. The policy that is being replaced was put in place due to failures of the originally installed sealed windows which were under warranty by the manufacturer (if memory serves, Knight Industries). Unfortunately when it became necessary to replace faulty windows, this manufacturer had gone bankrupt. As all Owners were potentially impacted by this window design failure, the Board at that time decided that a fair compromise position was to share this repair responsibility. As several decades have now past, most original windows have probably been replaced and review of this policy is appropriate. 
As an Owner you should also know your responsibility for repair to your "Unit" and when the repair is the Corporation's responsibility as it is a repair to the "Common Element". Pertaining to this issue, the tricky part of the Declaration's definition of the "Unit" is in the exclusionary clause, which states . . .

"Notwithstanding the foregoing, the unit shall not include:-

(a) Exterior face of the doors leading out of the unit, and exterior face of the window frames;"

In other words, the exterior face of these doors and the exterior aspects of the window frames are "common element" but the interior aspects of these elements are part of the "unit" and thus the Owners responsibility. To complicate matters further, schedule C specifies that a boundary of the "unit" is the backside of the drywall and that this boundary extends across window and door openings. The trick is to apply these definitions in a practical repair. Good luck! If you are replacing a window by putting the new window into the existing frame, this is 100% the Owners responsibility. Not so simple, if the window replacement involves removing the frame, especially if the exterior aspect of the frame is damaged. Repair of the exterior aspect of the frame (extending to the plane defined by the backside of the drywall) is the Corporation's responsibility, whether the window replacement is for an original or betterment. The dilemma is how to share the repair costs by determining the extent of the Common Element repair. Hopefully the Board will consider each repair request on it's merits, but it is in your best interest to understand your responsibility and submit your proposed window or door repair to the Board for consideration.

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Windows and exterior doors fall into a "gray zone" of the unit declaration being both a common element and "unit" owner responsibility. Many years ago the Board established a Window & Door Program with an annual budgetary allocation to fund this type of repair. Our Property Manager at Newton Trelawney keeps a list of requests which the Board reviews and approves. In any calendar year, an owner can request to be put on the list for the replacement of either their patio door or up to two windows (where the insulating seal has broken and the windows are fogging). The unit owner can purchase any compatible window or door from a vendor of their choice and arrange for it's installation. The Corporation will refund 50% of the cost (HST included) with a maximum refund capped at $600 for a patio door and $400 per window. 
At the present time this cost sharing program does not apply to windows other than the sealed double pane insulated windows. It also does not apply to front doors. If you have any questions, please contact Property Management or contact a Board member.