Finding the right contractor for your condo corporation’s renovation projects is not an easy task. In fact, your condo board must remain compliant and follow a specific condo tendering process. Here, we look at the most critical steps to ensure you know how to follow the proper procedure. 

Review Your Condo Corporation’s Tendering Process 

Your condo board should review your condo corporation’s procurement policy before beginning the tendering process. This will ensure you address best practices and comply with your condo corporation’s governing documents. You also understand your condo’s contractual obligations. Assessing past procurement experiences offers insights into past work and might help save time, such as providing an existing template for your tender package. 

Prepare a Detailed Tender Package 

Tender packages outline your project, providing the full scope of the work that must be completed. This ensures contractors have the exact same details, drawings, and tender form to base their quotes. You ensure pricing and bidding are fair and can compare apples to apples when deciding who to hire. 

Invite Bids 

Ideally, you want to invite no more than five contractors to the bid. Inviting bids is one of the most contentious steps of the tendering process as it can lead to questionable actions favouring one contractor over another. Your bid invitations must be unbiased and not based on board members’ personal interests. For example, inviting a board member’s brother-in-law to the tender process might be considered unfair. 

Having an unbiased expert recommend contractors such as your property management company or the engineer who draws up the designs helps, as they will a) know trusted contractors to complete the job and b) not have a vested interest in their recommendations. Any contractors you invite must complete a special pre-qualification CCDC11 form to demonstrate they have the experience to complete the work. 

Protect Your Interests 

CCDC11 Contractor’s Qualification Statements protect your interests even if you have used the contractor in the past. By collecting the information, you confirm important details that protect you from possible snags. You’ll understand whether the company has the funding, talent, and equipment to perform the work, can review comparable past projects, and know how many projects they have on the go. You can avoid issues with contractors not delivering on promises and feel confident they can complete this specific type of project. 

Hold a Pre-Tender Meeting

Attending the pre-tender meeting is mandatory for contractors. It allows contractors to consult with your engineer or project manager to review the project, understand the scope of work, and ask questions. If they do not attend, it typically leads to disqualification from the bidding process, as without attending the meeting, it is impossible for a contractor to understand the scope of the work. This leads to inaccurate bids and can leave you in a position where the contractor lacks the resources to complete the job. 

Set a Submission Date

Finally, setting a due date for submissions ensures you remain on schedule and can make a decision without delay. You can review the bids and determine the right contractor for the job. 

The tendering process is designed to ensure accountability and transparency while keeping pricing competitive. Following the proper tendering process helps avoid questionable actions, ensures that you pay fair prices, and keeps everything on the up and up. 

The condo experts at CPO Management Inc, a property management company in Toronto and the GTA, can help your condo corporation remain compliant during complex bidding invitations and the tendering process, keeping projects on time and within budget. Reach out to us today to learn more about our condo services.