Living in a Condominium

Condominium developments are self-governing communities with rules and bylaws to guide their operation and business affairs. If you’re thinking about buying a condo, it’s important to learn about your rights and responsibilities.

Owner Rights and Responsibilities

As the owner of a condo unit:

You can:

vote at owners meetings
elect board members
review corporation records (e.g., financial statements, meeting minutes)
request a meeting of owners
add matters to a general meeting agenda
get a court order to make the corporation carry out a duty required under the Condominium Act
remove a director from the board with a majority of votes.

You must:

pay your monthly common expense fees or special assessments
maintain and repair your unit
follow the condo’s declaration, bylaws and rules
resolve disputes through discussion, mediation, arbitration or court order.

Maintenance and Repairs

There are two types of repairs in a condo: repairs to your individual unit and repairs to the common elements. Common elements are defined in the declaration and may differ from one condo corporation to another.

Repairs Inside an Individual Unit

If repairs must be made inside your unit – for example, if your sink doesn't drain – you are responsible for making the repairs at your own expense. You’re also responsible for the ongoing maintenance of your unit.

Repairs to the Common Elements

The common elements are defined in your-condo corporation’s declaration. Normally they are the parts of the property outside the individual units. The board of directors is responsible for the upkeep, maintenance and repairs to common elements. (Often, the board will delegate this responsibility to a property manager.)

For example, if the foyer has been damaged, the condo corporation must repair it, with the cost shared by all of the owners as a common expense.

Exclusive-use common elements, such as parking spaces and lockers, are generally maintained by the corporation, but they are used only by one or more owners.

Condo corporations must keep the property in good repair to maintain its value.

Declaration, Bylaws and Rules

Condominium Declaration

The declaration sets out how the condo corporation is owned. It:

defines the units
defines the common elements
shows the percentage of ownership each unit has in the property
shows how much each owner must pay in common expense fees.

For example, owners of a three-bedroom condo may pay a higher monthly fee than owners of a two-bedroom condo.

Different condo corporations define ownership in different ways. In some condos, the outside wall is defined as part of the individual units. In others, the outside wall is part of the common elements. These distinctions are important – they may determine whether you will need to pay for window-washing services or repairs to the exterior brick of your townhouse.

The declaration can be changed, but this happens rarely. Changing the basis of a unit’s contributions to common expense fees would require the support of 90 per cent of the owners. Even changing a non-financial matter in the declaration, such as pet restrictions, would require 80 per cent agreement.

If you’re buying a unit in a newly built condominium, the declaration is included with the disclosure statement. If you’re buying a resale condo it’s included with the status certificate.

Condominium Bylaws

The bylaws set out how the corporation will be run. They deal with the responsibilities and powers of the board of directors, how meetings will be run, and the collection of common expense fees. The bylaws must be ratified by a majority of the owners and are effective once they are registered at the Land Registry Office.

Condominium Rules

The board of directors may also make rules to govern day-to-day living. Rules help promote the safety, security and welfare of the owners. These may include how the freight elevator can be used or whether owners can have pets.

Restrictions

The declaration, bylaws and rules will set out any restrictions on how you can use your unit or the common elements. If you’re new to condo living, you might find some of these surprising. For example, they may:

restrict the size or number of pets
specify that any window coverings visible from the outside must be a certain colour
require you to file certain documents with the property manager if you want to rent your unit.

You should review your condo’s declaration, bylaws and rules to learn about any restrictions and to make sure that the way you intend to use your condo will be permitted.

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