Repairs & Maintenance

The condo corporation has a general duty under the Condominium Property Act (CPA) to repair and maintain its real, personal, common and managed property. Common property is anything in a condominium complex not within the boundaries of a condominium unit. Common property is  jointly owned by all owners. Managed property is any unit or part of a unit that a corporation must maintain, repair or replace under the bylaws.

As part of its general duty to repair and maintain, the condo corporation must also follow repair notices or orders made by municipal or public authorities.

Tips for condo boards:

• Check the bylaws for additional duties of the corporation to maintain and repair property.
• Unless the bylaws say otherwise, the condo corporation is generally not responsible for repairs within condominium units. Owners are responsible for repairing and maintaining anything within their condominium unit such as the fridge or dishwasher.
• Experts recommend having a list of competent, reputable contractors or supplier network at hand to help facilitate condo repairs.
• If there is an issue over the responsibility for repairs or with contractors, a board should consult with a lawyer for advice.

The condo corporation has an ongoing duty for future maintenance and replacement of depreciating property through a reserve fund. Under the CPA, a condo corporation must create and maintain a reserve fund. The fund must have enough money to cover major repairs and replacement of things like:

• the roof
• central heating
• electrical system
• doors and
• exterior siding

As part of the condo corporation’s duty to create and maintain a reserve fund, it must retain a reserve fund study provider to carry out a study of the property. The provider will then produce a reserve fund report with recommendations to the board. The condo corporation must then create a reserve fund plan based on the report. The report can determine the amounts needed through condominium contributions, special levies, or other method to finance and maintain the reserve fund.

The reserve fund plan should reflect the recommendations in the reserve fund report. Otherwise, there can be potential problems including:

• Large increases in condominium contributions or major special levies
• Financial stress to unit owners and
• Loss of value in units, which may make the units difficult to sell.

Condominium corporations must make repairs to a unit (including fixtures and finishing) that are within their responsibility to insure.

Condominium corporations must repair a unit according to its standard insurable unit description except in certain circumstances, for example:

•  the owner has insured improvements or is willing to pay for improvements to the unit as an out-of-pocket expense
• the owner is willing to pay the costs of repairing:
  • absent
  • destroyed or
  • partially damaged property (where at least one of the items is described as fixtures and finishing)
• the fixtures and finishing in the unit were installed below the standard insurable unit description

Condominium corporations can make unit owners responsible for repairs, or arranging for and supervising unit repairs under the bylaws.

In certain situations, a condominium corporation can make repairs to a unit and then bill the owner for them. For example, a condominium corporation can make, arrange for and supervise repairs when:

• the owner fails to make repairs, putting public safety, the common property, other units, occupants, personal property in common property or other units at risk
• the unit owner or owner’s agent has not started repairs within a reasonable amount of time and
• the corporation has provided reasonable notice to the owner

In such a situation, the owner is liable for paying the corporation for the prudent costs of the corporation’s actions in making, arranging for and supervising repairs.

Corporations can recover an insurance deductible up to $50,000 from an owner if damage originated in the owner’s unit. To learn more about insurance and deductibles, go to the Insurance section of this website.

Condominium corporations set condo contributions (fees) to help pay for repairs and maintenance. These contributions go towards the corporation’s operating account (which covers the control, management and administrative expenses for the corporation’s real and personal property, as well as common property and managed property) and to the reserve fund. Contributions are calculated based on unit factors unless the Condominium Property Regulation or bylaws say otherwise.

The board also has the power to levy a special levy in certain situations. For example, when the operating account cannot cover unexpected shortfalls. Or to increase the reserve fund balance to meet reserve fund plan requirements. Each owner’s payment of a special levy is calculated based on their unit factor unless the Condominium Property Regulation or bylaws say otherwise.

The cost of some repairs may be covered by the condo corporation’s insurance policy. Condominium corporations should check their insurance policy carefully to see whether their coverage extends to repairs (if any).

If a condominium corporation’s bylaws allow for it, condominium boards can levy chargebacks against owners. Chargebacks are costs that a condo board can levy against an owner when the owner, someone living in their unit (an occupant), or someone they are responsible for, causes the condo corporation to incur costs.

If the corporation has to fix, replace, maintain, or protect any unit, the corporation’s real or personal property or common property because of that person’s actions—or because they failed to act (an omission)—the condominium board can charge the owner back for those costs. The amount of the chargeback may include the actual costs and any reasonable related service costs the corporation incurs to do this work.

The amount levied must be the lesser of:

• the amount of the actual costs and reasonable related service costs and
• the deductible limit of the corporation’s insurance policy

Chargeback Notice
Before levying a chargeback, a condominium board must serve notice of the proposed chargeback on the owner. They must do so within 90 days after they become aware, or should have become aware, of an act or omission, that lead to the corporation incurring costs. The notice must have the following information:

• owner’s name and unit number
• date of and description of the act or omission
• estimated amount of the chargeback
• deadline for the owner to respond in writing. This deadline must be 10 days or more, excluding holidays, after service of the notification.

After the board gets a written response or when the deadline for the written response has expired (whichever is earliest), the board may decide to levy a chargeback on the owner by resolution. Or, they may decide not to levy a chargeback.

Disputing a chargeback
Owners can dispute a chargeback levied against them by making an appeal to court (the Court of King’s Bench). They must make the appeal within 30 days of the service of the chargeback statement.