Status certificate (condominium)

Section 76(1) requires the corporation to give a status certificate to each person who requests one, so a buyer of a unit, or of a business that will operate from one, can ask for it during due diligence. This entry covers Ontario’s Condominium Act, 1998 only; check the rules where you are.

What the Act requires

• Section 76(1) lists the contents, including the common expenses for the unit and any default, a copy of the declaration, by-laws and rules, outstanding judgments against the corporation, the budget and a statement about the reserve fund.
• The corporation may charge the prescribed fee and must give the certificate within 10 days after receiving the request and the fee (s. 76(2) and (3)).
• Under section 76(6), the certificate binds the corporation, as of the date it is given or deemed to have been given, as against a purchaser or mortgagee of a unit who relies on it.

What to check or ask

Check the date the certificate was made and ask whether anything has changed since. If the corporation is late, section 76(5) deems a certificate to have been given on stated points, such as no default in common expenses. Ontario Regulation 48/01, section 18, sets further prescribed contents, including whether a certificate of lien has been registered against the unit. Ask a lawyer how these rules apply to a commercial unit. See whether the real estate purchase is a separate agreement and litigation search.