What’s included in your Condo fees?

Condo owners pay a monthly fee to cover their portion of the operating expenses of the common property elements. A portion of this fee is assigned to the reserve fund.

The calculation of condo fees varies by province but is usually specified in the governing documents of the condo corporation. These fees are usually calculated from the annual operating cost of the entire condominium and divided by the percentage of your contribution to the common expenses (your unit factor) as outlined in the condominium governing documents and/or local legislation.
These fees may include:

• Day-to-day care and upkeep of the common property elements (e.g. snow removal, landscaping, cleaning of common elements including carpets and exterior windows, heating/cooling system maintenance)
• Contributions to the reserve fund, which is used to pay for major repairs to, and replacement of, common building systems to ensure the condominium is kept in good repair over the life of the building
• Property management fees.
• Building repair and maintenance
• Salaries of condominium employees (e.g. superintendent, security guards, concierge)
• Amenities (e.g. use of pool, recreational facilities, party room)
• Utilities
• The corporation’s insurance policies.
• Cable and/or Internet access.

All inclusions and exclusions should be clearly outlined in the operating budget. You can find out more about the condominium fees from the vendor, property manager, the Board of Directors or the developer prior to purchasing a unit. If the Board overestimates the common expenses, the surplus is entirely applied either to future common expenses or is paid into the reserve fund.

Refunds are not given to unit owners. If a unit owner sells before the end of the condominium corporation’s fiscal year, the owner cannot obtain a refund for common expenses but may add it to the unit’s purchase price.

Condominium fees are neither optional nor negotiable. For example, unit owners are required to pay a share toward the care and upkeep of amenities such as swimming pools, regardless of whether or not they plan to actually use the pool. Unit owners cannot withhold payment of their condominium fees if they are displeased with the Board of Directors, the property manager or other unit owners. In some provinces, the condominium corporation can register a lien on your unit if you do not pay your share of the common expenses. This means the corporation may have the right to sell the unit to recover the money it is owed.

In Quebec there is a declaration of co-ownership and a register containing the by-laws, financial statements etc. This register is accessible to co-owners only. Prospective buyers can consult the register only if they have a mandate (proxy) to that effect from the co-owner-vendor. The vendor may supply the prospectus-known as a “memorandum” in Quebec if the building was registered after January 1st 1994 and has 10 residential units or more. This information includes:

• The name of the architects, engineers, builders and developers (called promoteurs in French)
• A plan of the overall real estate development project
• A summary of the descriptive specifications
• Budget forecast
• Information on common elements
• Management of the immovable
• The right of emphyteusis or superficies affecting the immovable.a look at life in this particular condominium, information that should help you to decide if it’s the right choice for you.

In addition to the above: (thanks Dimitri!)

• Owners of a fraction of a divided co-ownership are liable for the common expenses of the co-ownership. This obligation is guaranteed by legal hypothec.
• The co-owner must have defaulted for more than 30 days on payment of his common expenses or his contribution to the contingency fund.
• The legal hypothec has effect only upon registration of a notice indicating the nature of the debt for the current financial year, as well as the amount xigible for the next two years.

Source: CHMC

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