Accessible bay in a condominium: the exchange arrangement
With documented need, you can require an exchange into an accessible bay, and the person using it without such need must exchange. This is how section 26 of the Condominium Act works.
The condominium’s duty
Section 26 requires a condominium’s articles to ensure that accessible bays created for people with reduced mobility are available to those who need them. The law does not require construction of new bays; it requires an exchange arrangement for existing accessible bays. Changing that articles provision requires the express consent of all owners, and the municipality has a veto.
How an exchange works
- A unit owner, household member or tenant with documented need may request it.
- If the person already has a bay, they may exchange it for an accessible bay occupied by someone without need; that person must exchange.
- The arrangement is temporary and ends when the need ends.
- Documentation is normally a municipal disabled-parking permit or medical certificate.
- Multiple requests must be handled objectively and equally.
An important difference for housing associations
This statutory exchange rule exists only in the Condominium Act. Housing associations have no parallel provision; accessibility there depends on their articles and the duty of individual accommodation under equality and anti-discrimination law.
How to proceed
- Obtain documentation of need.
- Send the board a written exchange request citing section 26 and the articles.
- If a condominium refuses, the right may be pursued legally; the municipality can also be contacted because it has a veto over the articles provision.