Maintenance Fees

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Q: I'm thinking of buying a condominium and someone told me that the amount of maintenance fees I pay depends on what floor etc. You live on. Is this true? What factors play a part in the amount of maintenance fees I pay?

A: Maintenance fees are also referred to as "common expenses" and are the fees that you will be paying on a monthly basis to cover the expenses that relate to all the condominiums expenditures such as maintenance and repair costs, management fees, insurance, legal and accounting expenses and a contribution towards the reserve fund (the fund set aside to cover future major repairs and replacements for the building.)

The items that are included in maintenance fees are all set out in an annual budget that is prepared by the board of directors of the condominium corporation. It is important to see what items are included in this monthly fee. For example, the unit that you may consider purchasing, may be separately metered for utilities and therefore, this amount would be paid by you directly to the utility company and would not form part of the monthly maintenance fee.

What does each condominium owner pay?

Each condominium owner pays a percentage of the budget which is determined right from the outset when the condominium is created. The "declaration" sets out the percentage of maintenance fees that apply to each residential unit, parking unit and locker unit. The percentages are determined by the developer and often are based on square footage of the unit but do not have to be. It may be that units on the higher floors pay higher maintenance fee or it may be that all units pay the same percentage.

Denise Lash is a condominium lawyer at Heenan Blaikie LLP and can be reached at dlash@heenan.ca