How the law sets the contribution amount
The amount to contribute to a divided co-ownership's contingency fund in Quebec is not a percentage of current expenses: it is sized to the major repairs and replacement of common elements, based on the recommendations of a contingency fund study. That is what article 1071 of the Civil Code of Québec provides, as amended by Bill 16 (2019, c. 28).
The article also sets a quantified floor for the promoter phase: until the promoter has obtained the study, contributions to the fund must equal 0.5 % of the building's reconstruction value.
What about the « 5 % of common expenses » figure?
The « 5 % of annual common expenses » figure is not written into article 1071. It comes from:
- older declarations of co-ownership that adopted this contractual floor as a prudent practice,
- older management practices from before Bill 16, when this benchmark served as an unofficial norm,
- confusion with the 0.5 % of reconstruction value of the promoter phase.
If your declaration provides for a 5 % of common expenses floor (or any other threshold), it applies contractually: your syndicate sets the rule on itself, not the law. For more, see our dedicated article on the 5 % threshold.
Professional calculation: the contingency fund study
For existing co-ownerships, the study sets the contributions. The regulation adopted by decree 991-2025 specifies the study's minimum contents:
- inventory and description of common-element components,
- estimate of the condition and remaining useful life of each component,
- description of major repairs and replacements to be carried out over at least 25 years,
- estimate of the cost of each major repair and replacement at the estimated year of execution,
- recommendation on the balance that must be available in the fund at the start of each year and on the amounts to contribute annually.
Once the study is produced, its recommendations apply to the syndicate. The promoter-phase 0.5 % rule stops applying; a contractual floor lower than the study becomes inoperative for the « insufficient » portion; a contractual floor higher than the study continues to prevail.
Who can produce the study
Five categories of professionals are authorized by the regulation (Decree 991-2025, arts. 1 and 7):
- Engineer registered with the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec (OIQ),
- Architect registered with the Ordre des architectes du Québec (OAQ),
- Professional technologist registered with the Ordre des technologues professionnels du Québec (OTPQ),
- Chartered appraiser registered with the Ordre des évaluateurs agréés du Québec (OEAQ),
- Chartered professional accountant (CPA) registered with the Ordre des CPA du Québec — only for the contingency fund study, and subject to the same independence requirement.
In every case, the professional cannot be a director, manager, co-owner, or occupant of the building, nor the spouse of such a person.
Deadline and frequency
The study must be obtained by the board at least every 5 years (Decree 991-2025, art. 7). The obligation to have a first Bill 16-compliant study fully comes into force on August 14, 2028 for existing co-ownerships.
Estimating an order of magnitude before mandating a professional
For a preliminary estimate — useful for budgeting the study mandate or starting the discussion at assembly — you can use our online calculator. It applies typical inventory, useful-life and replacement-cost parameters to produce ranges by building type. It is not a substitute for the professional study required by Bill 16.