Some thoughts for people thinking of buying a new condo, who haven’t done so before. It is based on my experience working for a condo development company, where I did walkthroughs with purchasers.

No, in Alberta, the owner of a condominium unit is always allowed to rent out their unit.  There is nothing a Condominium Corporation can do prohibit this.  Section 32(5) of the Condominium Property Act makes clear no bylaw can restrict a unit owner’s freedom to rent out their unit. Often there’s a desire to restrict … Continue reading Can a Condo Corporation in Alberta ban renters?

A fairly common problem for Condominium Corporations is collecting condo fees that have gone into arrears by the unit owner.  In Alberta, the Condo Corporation is in a strong position on this matter, and has a few tools at its disposal. The most important fact that protects the Corporation is that condo fees are attached … Continue reading How can condo arrears be collected?

For larger Condominium Corporations its a pretty simple and a pretty obvious choice.  You practically need to have a professional management company to run things.  But, for smaller condos its a tough choice.  This post is about that question. It’s important to keep in mind what a management company does and doesn’t do.  While this … Continue reading Should we hire a condo management company?

In Alberta an Estoppel Certificate is a document created by a Condominium Corporation which sets out certain information, such as amounts owing on a unit.  This post discusses estoppels and more broadly discusses what a Corporation has to disclose to an entitled party (which is an owner, purchaser, or mortgagee). A potential buyer or mortgagee … Continue reading What is an estoppel?