Condos
Buying a condo in Calgary: you’re buying the building and the corporation that runs it.
The unit is the part you tour. The rest is the reserve fund, the bylaws and the board. I’m a Certified Condominium Specialist (CREB): I show you what to look for, and I encourage every buyer to have the documents professionally reviewed, so you know what you’re buying before you’re committed.
The fee
Why condo fees go up.
The fee is the building’s running budget split among the owners, so it moves with what the building costs to run. These are the usual reasons it rises.
- 01
Insurance
Building insurance is a large line in most condo budgets, and Alberta premiums and deductibles have climbed after years of hail, water and fire claims. When the policy renews higher, the fee follows.
- 02
Labour
Snow clearing, landscaping, cleaning, property management and trades are mostly labour, and their contracts are repriced each time they renew.
- 03
Materials
Roofing, windows, siding, concrete and elevator parts cost more than they did a few years ago. That shows up in repairs and in what the reserve fund study expects the big jobs to cost.
- 04
The reserve fund plan
Each new reserve fund study re-prices the big future jobs. When the costs come in higher, or the fund is behind its plan, the board raises contributions to catch up.
- 05
An ageing building
As a building gets older, more of its parts come due at once, and routine maintenance turns into replacement.
- 06
Utilities
Where the fee includes heat, water or common-area power, rate increases pass straight through to owners.
A low fee isn’t always the better buy.
A low fee
It can mean the building is putting too little into its reserve fund. The repairs still come, and when the fund can’t cover them, owners pay through a special assessment or a sudden jump in the fee.
A high fee
A high fee has reasons too. It can mean heat or water included, amenities to run, or a board building the reserve fund for big jobs ahead. Some of those work in your favour.
That’s what I tell my clients: a fee only makes sense next to the budget and the reserve fund study. Steady increases that follow the reserve fund plan are the building doing its job.
The documents
Read the documents before you’re committed.
In Calgary, a condo offer is usually conditional on reviewing the condo documents. That window is short, so it helps to know what to look for. These are the ones I read first, and what each one tells you.
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The reserve fund study and plan Whether the money for the big repairs is there.
Alberta requires most condo corporations to have a reserve fund study at least every five years (some bare-land complexes are exempt). Check its date, what it expects the building to spend on roofs, windows and parkades, and whether the fund is on track with its plan. It drives the reserve part of your fee.
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Special assessments Extra bills owners have paid, or may be asked to pay.
Any assessments in the last five years, and any the board has approved or is talking about. Who pays an assessment approved before you buy depends on when it falls due and what your contract says, so ask before you buy.
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Board and AGM minutes What the building actually deals with.
Two years of minutes show what the building actually deals with: water leaks, roof and parkade repairs, fee increases, disputes between owners. They read faster than you think.
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The budget and financial statements What the fee pays for, line by line.
What the fee pays for line by line, and whether the corporation is spending more than it takes in.
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Insurance and the deductible What a claim could cost you.
The building policy and its deductibles, especially for water damage. If damage starts in your unit, the corporation can charge you its deductible, so ask your insurer about cover for it.
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The bylaws Pets, rentals and renovation rules.
Pets, rentals, short-term rentals, age restrictions and renovation rules all live here. If your plans depend on one of them, check here first.
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The estoppel certificate Whether the seller is paid up.
The corporation’s statement of what is owed on the unit and any assessments it has approved. It shows whether the seller is paid up.
My advice
Have the documents professionally reviewed.
I encourage every condo buyer to have the documents reviewed by a professional condo document reviewer. A reviewer has read the documents of many other complexes, so they can walk you through yours and tell you how they compare.
About $500
for a professional review
Every review turns up something, because no condo is perfect. The value is knowing which findings matter for you, while you can still walk away.
The building
What a building’s age tells you to ask.
Each era of Calgary construction has its own questions. None of these means a building has a problem; they tell you where to look in the documents.
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Concrete buildings before the mid-1980s
Post-tensioned concrete
Ask whether the slabs or parkade use post-tensioned cables and when they were last inspected. Repairs are expensive, and the reserve fund study should say if any are coming.
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Built about 1978 to the late 1990s
Poly-B plumbing
Ask whether the plumbing is Poly-B and whether it has been replaced. Insurers ask about it, and replacing it is often a building-wide job.
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Wood-frame, mid-1990s to mid-2000s
The building envelope
Ask what the reserve fund study says about the building envelope (walls, windows, roof) and whether any envelope work or assessment has been done or planned.
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New buildings
The new home warranty
Alberta’s new home warranty covers at least materials and labour for 1 year, delivery and distribution systems for 2, the building envelope for 5 and the structure for 10, counted from when the warranty started, so check how much is left. The first budget and reserve contributions are set before the building has any cost history, so compare the fee with similar, older buildings.
The details
What condo buyers often miss.
- Is the parking stall mine?
- A stall or storage locker can have its own title that you buy with the unit, or be assigned by the corporation. Check which, and that it is written into your purchase contract: a titled stall is property you own; an assigned one stays common property, and the bylaws set the terms of your use of it.
- What does my own insurance need to cover?
- The building policy does not cover your belongings, your upgrades or your liability, and if damage starts in your unit you can be charged the building’s deductible. A condo unit policy covers those; ask your insurer for deductible cover that matches the building’s.
- What do I pay on top of the fee?
- Property tax comes to you from the City, and electricity, and sometimes heat and water, are often billed to each unit. The budget and the listing show which, so you can add up the true monthly cost.
- What if the documents arrive late?
- The condo-document condition runs to a fixed date in your offer. If the documents arrive late, you have less time to read them, so ask for them early. More time needs the seller’s agreement in writing before that date.
The title
Bare-land or conventional: what you own, and who fixes the roof.
Every condo is on one of two kinds of title, and it changes what you own, what the fee pays for and what you budget for yourself. Townhouses come in both, so the same row of homes can be either one. Here is what changes.
You own the space inside your unit. The walls, roof and front yards are usually common property, owned by all the owners together.
You own your lot: your home, roof to foundation, and the small front yard where the plan includes one.
- Yours
- Common property, owned together and run by the corporation
- Your neighbours’ units
| Question | Conventional | Bare-land |
|---|---|---|
| What you own | The space inside your unit, plus a share of the common property | A parcel of land and the home on it, plus a share of the common property |
| Roof, walls and exterior | Usually common property, which the corporation maintains and repairs; the bylaws can make owners responsible for parts such as windows, doors and balconies | Part of your home; the bylaws say whether the corporation looks after any of it |
| Front yard | Common property; the bylaws may give you the use of the yard at your door | Part of your lot where the plan includes one; some lots end at the front wall |
| Common property | Usually the structure, roof, yards, walks and parking areas | Usually the roads, walks, green space and any shared amenities |
| Building insurance | The corporation insures the building; you insure your belongings, your upgrades and the deductible you can be charged when damage starts in your unit | You usually insure your own home and the corporation insures the common property; the bylaws say which |
| Where you see it | Most apartments and many townhouses | Many villa and townhouse complexes |
Bungalow villas
One-level condo living, usually with a garage: what villas sell for in Calgary and nearby towns, and how their prices have moved since 2014.
Typical Calgary villa: $540,000, 1,250 sq ft, $454 a month (Jul to Sep 2026, 97 sales).
Read the villa guide