01
Status certificate
The status certificate is a package from the condo corporation about one particular unit and the building around it. In Ontario the corporation has 10 days to provide it once it’s requested and paid for, so most resale offers include a few days for your lawyer to review it.
It is long, and the useful parts are spread out. These are the lines I read first:
- Is the seller behind on fees?
- Has a fee increase been approved?
- Is the building suing anyone, or being sued?
- Has a special assessment been decided?
- Are there changes to the common areas planned?
- Which parking and locker units go with the suite?
02
Reserve fund
Part of every monthly fee goes into the reserve fund, the building’s savings for big repairs: roof, windows, garage membrane, elevators, boilers. A reserve fund study, updated every few years, lays out what will need doing and when.
The balance on its own says little. A big balance in a large old building can be thin, and a small one in a new building can be fine. What matters is whether the plan keeps pace with the work.
Illustrative example, made-up numbers
- Garage membrane due in 4 years
- $2.1M
- Expected in the fund by then
- $1.6M
- Shortfall the plan must cover
- $0.5M
A shortfall like that is covered by raising fees over time or by a special assessment. The study usually says which.
03
Maintenance fees
Fees are usually charged by the square foot, so a larger suite pays more. What they include changes a lot between buildings, which is why two similar fees can mean very different monthly costs.
Typical for downtown buildings. Each building’s budget and declaration decide the real answer.
| Cost | Often in the fee | Worth checking |
|---|
| Water | Usually | Newer buildings may meter it per suite. |
|---|
| Heat and cooling | Older buildings, often | Many newer suites are billed through a submeter. |
|---|
| Hydro | Rarely | Ask for recent bills from the seller. |
|---|
| Building insurance | Yes | Your own unit policy is separate. |
|---|
| Concierge and amenities | Yes | 24-hour staff and a pool cost every owner, used or not. |
|---|
| Parking and locker | Sometimes | Owned spots often carry their own fee and tax. |
|---|
04
Special assessments
A special assessment is a one-time charge to every owner when the reserve fund can’t cover a repair, or a lawsuit or insurance deductible lands on the building. It is shared by each unit’s percentage of ownership.
When it matters to you: if an assessment is decided before closing, who pays it is something to settle in the offer. The status certificate and recent board minutes are where it shows up first.
05
Parking and lockers
“Comes with parking” can mean three different things, and they don’t all transfer the same way when you sell later.
Owned unit
Its own legal description, its own property tax and fee. You can usually sell it with the suite or, if the rules allow, to another owner.
Exclusive use
Part of the common elements, assigned to your suite. It goes with the suite, and the building’s rules govern it.
Rented or licensed
A monthly arrangement with the building or another owner. It can end, and it doesn’t come with the sale.
Lockers follow the same three patterns. For downsizers, a second locker is often worth more than a bigger closet. EV chargers usually need board approval and an electrician the building accepts.
06
Building rules
The declaration and the rules are where people get caught: a dog over a weight limit, a lease that needs notice, a hardwood floor that needs a certain underlay. Questions I ask on every building:
- Pets: how many, how large, any breed limits?
- Leasing: minimum term, notice to the management office?
- Short stays: banned outright, and how is that enforced?
- Renovations: flooring underlay, permits, working hours?
- Moving: elevator booking, deposit and allowed days?
- Balconies: barbecues, planters, privacy screens?
- Smoking and cannabis rules in suites?
- Guest suites, visitor parking and amenity booking?
I explain the documents so you know what to ask. Legal advice on them comes from your real estate lawyer, who reviews the status certificate before your conditions come off.
