Buying a condo in Quebec: the eight documents to demand before offering

Co-ownership · Pre-purchase checks

The showing tells you what the unit looks like. The documents tell you what it will cost you.

The list, and what each reveals

1. The declaration of co-ownership. Your share, your votes, what is allowed and forbidden, penal clauses.
2. The syndicate register. The Code requires it to hold the declaration, contracts, cadastral plan, plans and specifications, location certificates, the maintenance log and the contingency fund study.
3. The maintenance log. What was done, when, by whom.
4. The contingency fund study. What remains to be done, and when.
5. The financial statements. The real fund balance, expense arrears, line items running away.
6. Recent meeting minutes. Work discussed, deferred, voted.
7. The building's location certificate. Limits, servitudes, encroachments.
8. A breakdown of common expenses and exactly what they cover.

The reading that matters

It comes down to a subtraction. Take the major work scheduled over the next five years in the fund study, subtract the actual fund balance, apply your share of common expenses. That is your estimated exposure to a special assessment.

This is done before the offer. Afterwards it becomes a surprise.

What a refusal means

A syndicate that will not provide these documents, or does not have them, is itself telling you about how the building is run. Not always a deal breaker, but it changes what goes into the offer and the conditions attached to it.

What we do

We request these as soon as interest is serious, not after acceptance. A condition verifying the co-ownership documents, written into the promise to purchase, leaves you a way out if the building does not hold up.

Where this surfaces: the syndicate register

Almost every question above is answered by one source, and it is not the listing. It is the register the syndicate must keep: the declaration of co-ownership, contracts, the cadastral plan, plans and specifications, location certificates, the maintenance log and the contingency fund study.

That is why we request those documents as soon as interest is serious, not after an accepted offer. A problem found before the promise to purchase is negotiated. Found after, it is absorbed.

Three habits before buying a condo

• Read the declaration before the showing sways you. It sets your share of expenses, your votes, and what is allowed.
• Compare the fund study with the fund balance. The gap is your special assessment risk, and it is a number.
• Read the last three sets of minutes. Work deferred year after year always ends up funded by someone. Often the new owner.

Related

• buying a condo in Quebec
• the promise to purchase in English
• the full co-ownership guide

Frequently asked

Which documents should I request?

The declaration, the register, the maintenance log, the contingency fund study, financial statements, meeting minutes, the location certificate and a breakdown of common expenses.

How do I estimate special assessment risk?

Subtract the fund balance from the work scheduled in the study, then apply your share of common expenses.

What if the syndicate refuses?

That is information in itself. It shows up in the price offered and in the conditions written into the promise to purchase.

Articles quoted from the official English version of the Civil Code of Quebec (legisquebec.gouv.qc.ca), consulted 11 September 2026. This page informs; it is not legal advice. For a specific situation, consult a notary or a lawyer.

Published by the Loaa & Manseur team, number one team at RE/MAX Platine in 2024 and 2025. Tell us about your project.