PCUR and relative charges: who pays what in a Quebec condo?

Quick answer: in Quebec, the co-owners who have the use of a restricted-use common portion - balcony, terrace, assigned parking spot, storage locker - alone contribute to the costs of its maintenance and current repairs (art. 1064 para. 1 CCQ). Major repairs and replacement, by contrast, stay general charges paid by everyone in relative value, unless the declaration of co-ownership provides for a different apportionment (art. 1064 para. 2 CCQ). No parallel bookkeeping is needed: one set of books, one allocation key per PCUR and an individualized contribution notice are enough.

What is a PCUR?

A restricted-use common portion (PCUR, from the French "partie commune à usage restreint") is a common portion that may serve the use of only some co-owners, or of a single one (art. 1043 para. 2 CCQ). It is the hybrid category of co-ownership law: the portion belongs to everyone in undivided ownership, but its use is reserved to a subset. The same paragraph adds a decisive sentence: the rules relating to common portions apply to restricted-use common portions. A PCUR therefore remains a common portion - only the contribution to some of its charges is reserved to its beneficiaries.

Typical examples, depending on what your declaration of co-ownership provides: balconies, terraces, patios, assigned parking spaces, storage lockers, staircases serving a single floor, ground-floor gardens, sometimes doors and windows.

The classic trap: a PCUR is not a private portion. If the balcony is designated as a restricted-use common portion for the benefit of your fraction, its maintenance is the syndicate's responsibility - but it is financed by you, through a relative charge.

What the law says

Since it was overhauled by Bill 16 (in force in 2020), article 1064 CCQ does not create two families of charges, but three. This is the nuance many online texts still miss, because they quote the old version of the article.

1. General common expenses (para. 1, first sentence). Each co-owner contributes to the common expenses in proportion to the relative value of their fraction: syndicate insurance, administration, maintenance of general common portions.

2. Maintenance and current repairs of a PCUR (para. 1, second sentence). Co-owners who have the use of a restricted-use common portion contribute alone to the costs related to the maintenance and current repairs of that portion. The allocation key among beneficiaries is the one set out in the declaration of co-ownership.

3. Major repairs and replacement of a PCUR (para. 2). The declaration of co-ownership may provide for a different apportionment of the contribution to the costs related to major repairs to restricted-use common portions and to the replacement of those portions. The key word is "may": absent such a clause, those costs stay general and everyone contributes in relative value. Replacing the balcony of a fraction is therefore not, by default, charged to its beneficiary alone.

This is the costliest trap on the subject: billing the beneficiaries alone for the replacement of a balcony or a staircase, with no clause in the declaration providing for it, overcharges them. The Code does not define the boundary between a "current repair" and a "major repair": it is assessed case by case (scale, cost, recurrence, useful life). On a significant amount, that is a question for your notary or your CPA.

Two rules complete the picture:

• The presumption falls on the general side. Article 1044 CCQ presumes common, among other things, the ground, yards, balconies, parks and gardens, driveways, stairways and lifts, and the premises for common services, parking and storage. A locker or a parking space is therefore presumed a common portion - which does not make it a PCUR. As long as the declaration does not qualify it as a PCUR, everyone contributes in relative value, even if in practice only some use it.
• Requalifying means amending the declaration. Neither the board nor even an ordinary resolution of the meeting can turn a general common portion into a PCUR: it takes an amendment to the declaration adopted by three quarters of the votes of the co-owners present or represented (art. 1097 CCQ), with a notarial act published. Bill 16 removed the former "double majority" from this article: it survives only at art. 1098, for other decisions.

Whether an element is private, PCUR or general common is always a reading of your declaration. In case of doubt or silence, that is a question for your notary.

Do you need parallel bookkeeping? No.

The "parallel bookkeeping" myth comes from confusing two things:

• Physical separation of funds (a dedicated bank account): required for the contingency fund and the self-insurance fund, not for PCURs.
• Analytical separation (distinguishing the charges in the books): sufficient for PCURs.

The syndicate's general ledger stays unique, the balance sheet stays unique. A PCUR maintenance expense keeps its usual expense account in the chart of accounts; it simply carries an allocation tag saying which PCUR it concerns. The breakdown then happens in four places:

1. The annual budget: distinct lines for relative charges, next to general expenses.
2. The contribution: each fraction's share = its portion of general expenses (by relative value) + its share of each PCUR it benefits from.
3. The contribution notice: each co-owner only sees the PCURs that concern them, under a "Relative charges" heading distinct from general expenses.
4. The financial statements: PCUR contributions appear as distinct lines or in a breakdown note.

This is the pattern recommended by Quebec practice, aligned with the RGCQ's standardized chart of accounts - which has no account range reserved for PCURs: a PCUR is an allocation rule, not a new accounting code.

In practice for your syndicate

Take a 12-unit building with three PCURs in the budget:

It is the board of directors that sets this matrix, after consulting the general meeting (art. 1072 CCQ): the meeting is consulted, it does not vote the budget - unless your declaration requires it. The syndicate then notifies each co-owner without delay of the amount of their contributions and the date they are due. The ground-floor co-owner and the 3rd-floor co-owner do not receive the same notice - and that is exactly what the law requires.

Mistakes to avoid:

• Spreading PCUR maintenance across everyone "to keep it simple": contrary to art. 1064 para. 1.
• Billing the replacement of a PCUR to its beneficiaries alone: contrary to art. 1064 para. 2, absent a clause in the declaration. It is the opposite mistake, and at least as common.
• Charging a general common portion to a subset because in practice only they use it: the element must first be requalified in the declaration (art. 1097).
• Restricting the contingency fund contribution to a subset: the contingency fund is a general charge; everyone contributes in relative value.
• Defining a PCUR by "whoever uses it": beneficiaries are set by the declaration, not by current usage.

How CondoAide handles it

With the Advanced Finances option, CondoAide applies the allocation key your declaration provides:

• You configure each PCUR once: name, reference to the declaration clause, beneficiary units and allocation key (equal shares, relative value among beneficiaries, or explicit percentages).
• In the budget, you tag the relevant lines. The expense keeps its usual accounting code; the PCUR tag determines who pays it.
• The contribution engine does the rest: it removes PCUR amounts from the general base, splits each PCUR among its beneficiaries and guarantees that the sum of the lines equals exactly the contribution collected. Guardrails block generation rather than misbill - for example a PCUR tagged in the budget but with no beneficiary.
• Each co-owner receives an individualized notice, with their general expenses and a "Relative charges - PCUR" section showing only what concerns them, with the reference to art. 1064 para. 1 CCQ.

CondoAide is a management tool: it applies the allocation your syndicate configures from its declaration. Qualifying an element as a PCUR and choosing the key remain the syndicate's decisions, with its notary as needed.

What is NOT in the law

• "The board can decide an element becomes a PCUR" - false. The declaration must be amended (three quarters of the votes of the co-owners present or represented, art. 1097, notarial act published).
• "The beneficiaries of a PCUR pay all of its charges" - false since 2019. They alone pay maintenance and current repairs (art. 1064 para. 1); major repairs and replacement stay general, absent a clause in the declaration (art. 1064 para. 2).
• "PCURs require a separate bank account" - false. Analytical separation is enough; separate accounts are the practice for the contingency fund and the self-insurance fund.
• "Only those who use the pool should pay for it" - incomplete. As long as the pool is not qualified as a PCUR in the declaration, it is a general common portion and everyone contributes in relative value (art. 1064 para. 1).
• "The contingency fund can be adjusted based on usage" - false. The contingency fund contribution forms part of the contribution to common expenses set by the board, allocated by relative value (art. 1072 CCQ). Since 2019, art. 1064 no longer mentions the contingency fund.

Frequently asked questions

Who pays for balcony maintenance in a Quebec condo? It depends on your declaration of co-ownership. If the balcony is qualified there as a restricted-use common portion, maintenance is the syndicate's responsibility but its cost is a relative charge paid only by the benefiting co-owners (art. 1064 para. 1 CCQ). Watch what follows: replacing the balcony is a general charge paid by everyone in relative value, unless the declaration provides for a different apportionment (art. 1064 para. 2 CCQ).

Do relative charges require separate bookkeeping? No. One set of books is enough: the expense keeps its usual account and carries a PCUR allocation tag. The budget, contributions, notices and financial statements then break the amounts down among beneficiaries.

How are charges split among the beneficiaries of a PCUR? According to the key set out in the declaration of co-ownership: equal shares, prorated relative values of the fractions concerned, or explicit percentages. If the declaration is silent, consult your notary before choosing a key.

Can a subset of co-owners be charged for a general common portion? No, not without requalification. As long as the element is not qualified as a PCUR in the declaration, all co-owners contribute in relative value (art. 1064 para. 1 CCQ). Requalification requires amending the declaration, adopted by three quarters of the votes of the co-owners present or represented (art. 1097 CCQ), with a notarial act published.

Can the contingency fund be split by PCUR? No. The contingency fund contribution forms part of the contribution to common expenses that the board of directors sets annually, after consulting the general meeting: each co-owner contributes in proportion to the relative value of their fraction (art. 1072 CCQ).

To go further

• Civil Code of Québec, art. 1043 - definition of the PCUR
• Civil Code of Québec, art. 1064 - allocation of charges
• Civil Code of Québec, art. 1072 - setting the contribution to common expenses
• Civil Code of Québec, art. 1097 - amending the declaration
• Condo fees in Quebec: how much does co-ownership cost?
• The special assessment in a condominium
• Condo accounting without an accountant

This article provides general information and is not legal or accounting advice. For a decision that binds the syndicate, consult your notary or your CPA. CondoAide is a management platform - we do not perform contingency fund studies or accounting audits. For those services, retain a member of a recognized professional order (OIQ, OAQ, OEAQ, OTPQ, CPA).