Owners of units in a central Edmonton condo building have banded together to prevent a takeover by companies looking to convert it into rental housing. About three-quarters of homeowners in The Berkeley have formed a community coalition to resist investment firms seeking to buy up units in the building. John Boissonneault, a coalition member and president of the building’s condo association board, says that level of support among neighbours is “really good to see.” “It made me feel like I’m not the only one who feels at home here,” a tearful Boissonneault, who has lived in The Berkeley for the last three decades, told CTV News Edmonton last week. The pledge among condo owners came after several residents received letters from investment firms expressing interest in buying their units. “There was a lot of concern, and there seemed to be a consensus at that time that everybody seemed to want to remain owners and not see the building go into an apartment-style building,” Boissonneault said. “We’re all proud to be owners, and we all made those choices in life, but you can’t control everybody where they are in their lives. These are vulnerable times, and they may be preying on vulnerable people if they’re reaching out either by email or phone or letters and trying to get those vulnerable people, and maybe making decisions where they may not understand the full scope of that.” Darlene Reid, board chair of the Realtors Association of Edmonton, says the solicitation is legal. “But it’s a loophole they found,” Reid said of a tactic firms can use to try to force unit owners to sell. What many condo owners don’t realize is that their units are worth “a lot more” when sold as part of an entire building, she said. “Instead of these companies approaching the board and making an offer for the whole building, they’re going backdoors and approaching individual owners until they get a majority, controlling interest,” Reid said. Companies buy condo units with the long-term goal of converting an entire building into rentals they operate, a process Reid says can leave remaining owners in a difficult position. “Once they get into the buildings ... and they have 50% ownership, they’ll take control of the board of directors, and then they have full voting ability,” Reid explained. “They’ll issue special assessments and make things very difficult for the remaining owners so that they’re almost forced to sell because they can’t afford to stay in the buildings. Once they get the entire building, they get access to that reserve fund, then they can take that million-dollar reserve fund and use it as a down payment on the next building they acquire.” One company that has been sending letters to owners at The Berkeley, located a half block north of Jasper Avenue on 116 Street, is Edmonton-based Harmani Investments. The company told CTV News Edmonton its inquiries are intended to gauge interest and that owners are under no obligation to respond. The firm, which says it welcomes scrutiny and wants to meet with provincial representatives to discuss its plans for the building, notes that several units at The Berkeley are already for sale, that the building’s reserve fund faces a shortfall, and that it has the capital to help bridge the gap. Right now, Edmonton’s condo market is “a little bit soft,” Reid says. “We’ve seen a huge increase in inventory from last year, and we’ve seen the number of sales drop,” she said. “There is a lot of supply on the market.” Reid said the reduction in owner-occupied housing stock is “not great” for younger people trying to enter the market or for seniors who have lived in these buildings for years and paid off their mortgages. “Now they’re being turned into rentals, and they have to find other alternative accommodations,” she said. The Realtors Association of Edmonton has asked the provincial government to close what it calls a building-control loophole by giving a group that owns multiple units in a condo building just one vote, ensuring it “can’t force the other people out.” Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Minister Dale Nally said in a statement to CTV News Edmonton that his office is “aware of the concerns that have been raised” and is learning more about the issue. “Condo owners deserve to have confidence that the rules and protections in place are working for them,” Nally said in the statement. “Our conversations will help us determine whether any changes may be needed.” With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Connor Hogg
