Buying a Condo in Ontario: Status Certificate and Reserve Fund

Ontario Downsizing is an information resource written by real estate agents on the operating team at eXp Realty. Nothing here is legal advice. The facts below come from the Condominium Act, 1998 and from the Condominium Authority of Ontario (CAO), and they apply to condominium corporations in the province as of 2026. Laws change, and an Ontario real estate lawyer should review your own purchase.

How a condo works in Ontario

A condominium is governed by the Condominium Act, 1998. You own your unit, and you and the other owners together own the common elements through a condominium corporation. A board of directors, elected by owners, runs the corporation. The board collects monthly common expenses, keeps a reserve fund, maintains the common elements and enforces the declaration, by-laws and rules.

The CAO describes several types of condominium, including standard, phased, vacant land and common elements condominiums. Most downsizers look at standard condominiums such as apartments and stacked or attached townhouses. Our guide to comparing a condo, townhouse and house places condos next to other home types.

What to look at before you make an offer

The CAO suggests that someone buying a resale condo check the reserve fund status and the age of the building, the monthly fees, the amenities and any litigation. Add to that the governing documents, which set restrictions on smoking, short-term rentals and pets. If you plan to keep a pet, rent the unit out for part of the year or travel for months at a time, those rules matter as much as the layout.

Work from the documents rather than from the listing or from a neighbour's account. A listing can show monthly fees, but it cannot show a special assessment that is coming, a lawsuit or a thin reserve fund.

The status certificate: what it is and what it shows

A status certificate is the main resale document. Under section 76 of the Condominium Act, 1998, the corporation provides it with a statement of common expenses and any defaults. The CAO says anyone can request one. The corporation may charge up to $100 including tax and must deliver it within 10 days.

According to the CAO, a status certificate includes:

• The declaration, by-laws and rules.
• The budget and financial statements.
• The reserve fund statement.
• Any arrears on the unit.
• Special assessments levied since the budget.
• The list of directors.
• Insurance certificates.
• Information on litigation.

In practice your lawyer, not you alone, reads it and flags what matters. Still, read it yourself with your lawyer's summary beside you. The CAO notes a Superior Court decision in which an owner avoided a special assessment because the status certificate did not clearly disclose it. The wording of the certificate therefore counts, which is another reason to have a lawyer go through it line by line.

The status certificate is usually requested after your offer is accepted and is often made a condition of the offer, so there is a window to walk away if it raises a problem. The agreement of purchase and sale sets the conditions and timelines, so have your lawyer review the wording before you sign. If a competing-offer situation pushes you to remove conditions, think carefully before waiving the review, because the document is where the unpleasant surprises live.

Reserve fund study: is the building saving enough?

The Condominium Act, 1998 requires a corporation to keep one or more reserve funds, used solely for major repair and replacement of the common elements. It also requires periodic reserve fund studies. The CAO describes the schedule as follows:

• A Class 1 study within the first year.
• Then Class 2 and Class 3 studies alternating, at least every three years.
• Studies project at least 30 years ahead.
• The board must review a study within 120 days and propose a funding plan.
• Owners receive a notice of future funding within 15 days.

The study estimates when roofs, windows, elevators, boilers and parking structures will need work and what that will cost, then compares it with the fund. The CAO cites O. Reg. 48/01 for these rules.

You do not need to be an engineer to ask useful questions. How recent is the latest study? Does the funding plan raise contributions gradually, or does it lean on special assessments? Are large projects such as a roof or garage repair coming soon? A building where the study shows a plan and regular contributions tells a different story from one where the fund is small against a long list of large repairs. Ask your lawyer to explain the numbers in the certificate in plain terms.

Special assessments and condo fees

Monthly common expenses cover the building's operating costs and contributions to the reserve fund. A special assessment is an extra, one-time charge. The CAO explains that a board can levy it through common expenses without owner approval, that unpaid amounts can become a lien against the unit, and that it is shared by the same percentage as common expenses.

That means a special assessment can arrive after you buy it, for example when a major repair costs more than the reserve fund holds. Before you buy, check the status certificate for assessments already levied and ask the corporation, through your lawyer, whether any are being discussed. A building can have low fees and weak savings, or higher fees and stronger savings. A low fee is not automatically a bargain.

Fees, the date of the last increase and any planned increase belong on your question list. This site does not publish typical condo fee amounts because they vary widely by building and over time, and nothing here should be read as an estimate for any particular building.

Insurance, rules and what you can do in your unit

The status certificate includes insurance certificates for the corporation's coverage. That is separate from your own unit owner's insurance, and the line between what the corporation insures and what you insure depends on the declaration. Ask your insurance broker to read the declaration and the corporation's certificate before closing, and ask what you would be responsible for if there were water damage in the unit. For a broader look at coverage, see flood and storm insurance when downsizing.

Rules deserve the same attention. The CAO notes that owners must notify the corporation if they lease their unit, and that the governing documents set restrictions on smoking, short-term rentals and pets. If a restriction would change how you want to live in the unit, discuss it with your lawyer before you remove conditions.

The Condominium Authority of Ontario and the Tribunal

The Condominium Authority of Ontario publishes guides for owners and buyers, runs a condo registry and operates the Condominium Authority Tribunal. The Tribunal handles disputes about records, pets and animals, vehicles, parking and storage and nuisances such as noise, odour, smoke, vapour, light and vibration. It cannot handle changes to common elements or issues likely to cause illness, injury or damage. For pet disputes, the governing documents need a relevant provision.

Use the CAO website for up-to-date, plain-language explanations and use your lawyer for advice on a specific building. If a dispute arises after you buy, the CAO is the first place to find out which route applies.

Money, tax and closing on a condo

The buyer pays land transfer tax in Ontario, and Toronto buyers also pay the Toronto Municipal Land Transfer Tax. Our guide to land transfer tax in Ontario sets out the rates. If you are selling a house to buy a condo, estimating net proceeds and the net proceeds calculator help you work out what you can afford.

If you are buying a new condo from a builder, the rules differ. Ontario's Enhanced New Housing Rebate applies to homes bought from a builder between April 1, 2026 and March 31, 2027, with limits that depend on price. The Tarion warranty on a new condo unit has a lower maximum coverage figure than for a freehold home, for agreements signed on or after July 1, 2023. Have your lawyer confirm what applies to your agreement. This guide concentrates on resale condos.

On closing, title is transferred by lawyers: generally one for the buyer and a different one for the seller. Title insurance is optional in Ontario and is regulated by FSRA. Ask your lawyer what it would cover on a condo purchase.

A condo buyer's checklist

• Ask your lawyer to order and review the status certificate, and ask for a plain-language summary.
• Read the reserve fund statement and ask when the most recent study was completed.
• Check for special assessments already levied and ask about any under discussion.
• Read the declaration, by-laws and rules on pets, smoking, rentals and renovations.
• Confirm what the corporation insures and what you must insure.
• Ask about litigation involving the corporation.
• Ask about the building's age and any large repairs that are coming.
• Have an insurance broker review the declaration before you remove conditions.

Where to go next

If you are still choosing between home types, read condo, townhouse or house. If you are weighing a life lease or a land lease, see life lease and land lease homes, because the rules there are not the Condominium Act's. If you need to sell first, buy first or sell first covers the order of events.

For a list of resources and agencies, see resources. When you want a conversation with an agent on the operating team at eXp Realty, contact us.