Estoppel Certificate | Documents and Information | Record Inspection | Document Fees
A condominium corporation has a legal obligation to respond to certain requests for information and documents.
Estoppel Certificate
What is an estoppel certificate?
An estoppel certificate is a statement indicating whether condominium contributions (fees) have been paid.
Who can request an estoppel certificate?
The following people can make a written request for an estoppel certificate:
- Owner
- Purchaser
- Mortgagee
- Lawyer of the owner, purchaser or mortgagee
- A person authorized by the owner, purchaser or mortgagee
Requests for an estoppel certificate should be made to the management company or to the condo board if the condo is self-managed.
What happens when a condo corporation receives a request?
When receiving a written request, the corporation must respond within 10 days by providing a certificate with the following information:
- The amount of the condominium contribution
- The payment schedule
- Any unpaid contributions
- The interest owing on any unpaid contributions
Documents and Information
What are documents and information?
Under the Condominium Property Regulation, there are documents and information that a condominium corporation must provide upon request (by certain people). For example:
- An information statement (“consolidated information statement”) with:
- Details on any:
- Lawsuits involving the corporation
- Judgments or orders that the corporation is liable for
- Written demand on the corporation greater than $5,000 that may result in a lawsuit
- A statement outlining or setting out:
- capital replacement reserve fund amount
- contributions and how they are determined
- structural deficiencies known to the corporation at the time of the request
- Loan disclosure statements for current loans
- Details on any:
- Details or a copy of any existing or prior agreements (management and recreational)
- Details on post tensioned cables
- A copy of the corporation’s budget and annual financial statements
- A copy of the corporation’s bylaws
- For a particular fiscal year, a copy of:
- All approved general meeting minutes. If unavailable, then draft minutes of general meetings that took place at least 30 days before the request date
- Approved board meeting minutes
- A statement outlining unit factors and how their allocations are determined
- A copy of any lease or exclusive use agreement on common or real property (for example, parking stall or storage unit)
- A consolidation of all rules made by the corporation under section 32.1 of the Condominium Property Act
- A list of board member names and addresses for service
- The text of ordinary and special resolutions voted on by the corporation, plus voting results (other than show of hands vote results)
- Copies of professional reports. This does not include reports requested/obtained by the corporation’s lawyer relating to litigation
- Copies of insurance certificates and insurance policies
- The current standard insurable unit description
- Copies of reserve fund plans, reserve fund reports and annual reports
Who can request documents and information?
The following people can make a written request for certain documents and information held by the corporation:
- Owner
- Purchaser
- Mortgagee
- Lawyer of the owner, purchaser or mortgagee
- A person authorized by the owner, purchaser or mortgagee
What happens when a condo corporation receives a request for documents or information?
Upon receiving the request, the corporation has 10 days to provide the documents or information to the requestor. Requests for condominium documents should be made to the management company or to the condo board if the condo is self-managed. The condominium corporation can provide the documents and information in electronic form unless the requestor specifies that they be provided in paper form.
Tip for condo boards: when dealing with requests for information, it is a good idea for the condominium corporation to record details of the request such as the date of the request, the information/documents provided, and the name of the person the information was given to. As well, it is a good idea to verify the identity of any third parties (such as lenders or buyers) making the request.
Tip for condo owners: You may make copies of documents provided under section 44 of the Condominium Property Act and give them to others.
Record inspection
What is a record inspection?
A record inspection is when a mortgagee makes a written request to the condo corporation to inspect:
- Records relating to the corporation’s management or administration
- Minutes of board meetings
- Minutes of owners’ meetings
The mortgagee has the right to inspect the records within 10 days of making the request.
Document Fees
Do fees apply to document requests?
Fees may apply to document requests. The Condominium Property Regulation specifies how much a corporation can charge for fees. There is a maximum fee that condominium corporations can charge for certain documents, for example:
- Estoppel certificates: $200.
- Consolidated information statement: $100
- Any other documents:
- If the document provided is in hard copy format and is more than 40 pages in length: $0.25 per page
- If the document provided is in a format other than hard copy or is not more than 40 pages in length: $10
However, the condominium corporation cannot charge owners for information or documents that it must provide (without request) under the Condominium Property Act or Condominium Property Regulation (e.g., financial statements for the AGM). It also cannot charge for information or documents that have not been requested by the person making the request.
Third party providers can charge fees to deliver documents on behalf of corporations, as long as they meet certain conditions under the regulation. See section 20.53(4) of the Condominium Property Regulation for more information.
What about rush fees for documents?
A “rush fee” may apply to certain documents requested on a rush basis. For example, if a person requests the following documents and the corporation produces the document within 3 days of the request (excluding holidays), then the corporation may charge the following fees in addition to the applicable document fees:
- Estoppel certificate: up to $100 rush fee
- Consolidated information statement: up to $50 rush fee
- Any other information or document: up to $20 rush fee
Further resources
Last updated: June 2022