Before a Smart Store goes into your lobby, you need to know it will not create liability, cost, or a headache for the corporation. Here is the short version a property manager or board can act on. A reputable unattended-retail partner should carry commercial general liability insurance, name your building as an additional insured by endorsement, and hand you a certificate of insurance on request. There should be zero capital cost to the building, no staffing on your side, and a single local contact who owns every part of the service. The footprint should be small, the power draw modest, and the agreement should be structured to stay within what your board can approve. SMV is built to clear each of these gates. Use the checklist below to vet us, or any vendor, point by point.

Is the vendor properly insured?

Start here, because it is the gate most amenity vendors quietly fail. Ask for proof, not promises:

A certificate of insurance (COI) issued by their insurer, current and addressed to your corporation.
Commercial general liability coverage in force for the full term of the agreement.
Your building named as an additional insured by endorsement, not merely listed on the certificate. An endorsement is what actually extends the policy to protect the corporation. A name typed onto a certificate without one does very little.
WSIB clearance (a Workplace Safety and Insurance Board clearance certificate), so the corporation is not exposed if a worker is injured while restocking or servicing on site.

SMV carries commercial general liability insurance and names the building as an additional insured by endorsement. We provide a certificate of insurance on request and keep it current for the life of the agreement. If a vendor cannot produce these documents quickly, that is your answer.

What does it cost the building, and who is liable?

A Smart Store should cost the corporation nothing: no purchase, no lease, no installation fee, and no monthly charge. The vendor owns the hardware, installs it, stocks it, and services it, and earns its margin on the products residents buy. That alignment matters for your risk review. Because the building is the host and not the buyer, there is no capital outlay to approve, no equipment on the corporation’s books, and no revenue share for management to administer or audit.

Confirm three things in writing: who owns the hardware (the vendor, not the building), who is responsible for damage or malfunction (the vendor), and that there is no charge to the corporation in any scenario. For the full breakdown of the zero-cost model and where the money actually comes from, see how much a Smart Store costs a building.

How much space and power does it need?

The footprint is small, roughly that of a large fridge, and it sits in a lobby corner, mail room, lounge, or break room without reconfiguring the space. It runs on a standard power outlet, with a draw similar to a commercial cooler. Connectivity is handled by building WiFi or, where that is not available, the vendor’s own cellular connection, so there is no IT integration and nothing to wire into building systems.

For a property manager, that means the install is reversible and low-impact: a unit plugged into an existing outlet, not a renovation.

Can the board approve it, or does it need an owner vote?

For condominium corporations, additions to the common elements are governed by Section 97 of the Ontario Condominium Act, 1998. In broad terms, Section 97 distinguishes between changes a board can approve on its own and more substantial additions or alterations that require notice to owners or, above certain cost and impact thresholds, an owners’ vote. Whether a given amenity needs a vote depends on its cost to the corporation and its effect on the use and enjoyment of the common elements.

This is exactly why the zero-cost, fully removable structure matters. Because the corporation pays nothing and the unit can be taken out cleanly, a Smart Store is designed to sit on the board-approvable side of that line in most cases. We structure the agreement to be straightforward for a board to review, and we are happy to give your directors or counsel the documents they need to make that call. There is more on how this works for condo buildings. None of this is legal advice; your board should confirm its own obligations under the Act.

Does it watch residents? What about privacy?

No. A Smart Store uses product recognition, not facial recognition. The technology identifies which items a resident takes so they are charged correctly. There is no facial recognition, no facial detection, and no system estimating anyone’s age or gender. There is no camera analyzing people.

That distinction matters under PIPEDA, Canada’s federal private-sector privacy law, which governs how businesses collect and use personal information. Because the Smart Store is not collecting biometric or identifying information about residents, the privacy surface for the corporation stays minimal. This is a common board and resident question, and it is worth getting a clear, written answer from any vendor. Ours is on the privacy and security page.

Who handles service, and what if it does not work out?

One local GTA contact owns the entire operation: restocking, cleaning, routine maintenance, and repairs. The corporation does not lift a finger and has a single point of accountability rather than a call centre. Ask any vendor who that person is and how quickly they respond.

Every SMV partnership also starts with a 90-day trial. We install the Smart Store and run it for 90 days. If residents do not take to it, we remove it and return the space exactly as it was, at no cost and with nothing left behind. A clean exit should be in writing before anything is installed, so the building is never stuck with an amenity that is not a fit.

Still have questions? Our FAQ covers the ones property managers ask most.

Key takeaway

A Smart Store should clear every gate on a property manager’s vendor checklist before it ever reaches the lobby: a certificate of insurance with the building named as an additional insured by endorsement, WSIB clearance, zero cost and zero liability to the corporation, a small footprint on a standard outlet, a board-approvable structure under Section 97, privacy by design with no facial recognition, and one accountable local contact backed by a 90-day trial with a clean-exit guarantee. If a vendor cannot check all of those boxes, keep looking. See if your building is a fit.

Written by Niki, director of Smart Micro Vending, the GTA operator that installs and runs Smart Stores as a building amenity.