Ontario status certificates: the 10 days and the $100 fee

An Ontario condominium corporation must give a status certificate within 10 days after it receives both the request and the fee, and the fee cannot exceed $100 including taxes (Condominium Act, 1998, s. 76 (3); O. Reg. 48/01, s. 18 (4)). If the certificate is late, the corporation is deemed to have given one that says the unit has no common expense arrears, no declared increase in its common expenses and no reserve fund assessment, and that statement binds it (s. 76 (5) and (6)).

For a self-managed board, the request often lands in a volunteer's inbox in the middle of a sale. This article explains the clock, the fee and the cost of missing it.

Who can ask, and in what form

"The corporation shall give to each person who so requests a status certificate with respect to a unit in the corporation, in the prescribed form" (Condominium Act, 1998, s. 76 (1)). Anyone can ask, not only the owner of the unit. The certificate is the form the Condominium Authority of Ontario specifies, entitled "Status Certificate" (O. Reg. 48/01, s. 18 (2)).

When the 10 days start

"The corporation shall give the status certificate within 10 days after receiving a request for it and payment of the fee charged by the corporation for it" (s. 76 (3)).

Two things follow.

1. The clock starts with the later of the two. A request that arrives on Monday with the fee paid on Thursday runs from Thursday.
2. The day the clock starts does not count. Under the Legislation Act, 2006, a period described as beginning after a specified day excludes that day (s. 89 (5)), as does a number of days between two events (s. 89 (3)). A time limit that would end on a holiday, Sundays included, runs to the next day that is not a holiday (s. 89 (1)).

If the corporation charges no fee, the 10 days run from the request alone.

The fee: $100, taxes included

The corporation "may charge the prescribed fee" (s. 76 (2)). The regulation sets the ceiling: the fee for the certificate, "including all material that is required to be included in it, shall not exceed $100, inclusive of all applicable taxes" (O. Reg. 48/01, s. 18 (4)). So $100 is the whole price: no HST on top, and no extra charge for the attachments the certificate must carry.

You may read that the fee is about to rise. An association of condominium managers has asked the province for a higher cap, but no regulation has changed it: on the e-Laws text current to October 21, 2026, the cap is still $100.

What happens if the board is late

"A corporation that does not give a status certificate within the required time shall be deemed to have given a certificate on the day immediately after the required time has expired stating that" (s. 76 (5)):

• there has been no default in the payment of common expenses for the unit;
• the board has not declared any increase in the common expenses for the unit since the date of the budget for the current fiscal year;
• the board has not levied any assessments against the unit since that budget to increase the contribution to the reserve fund.

That deemed certificate is not a formality. "The status certificate binds the corporation, as of the date it is given or deemed to have been given, with respect to the information that it contains or is deemed to contain, as against a purchaser or mortgagee of a unit who relies on the certificate" (s. 76 (6)). So if the unit was in arrears, the corporation is bound by the deemed statement of no default as against a buyer or lender who relied on a late, deemed certificate.

What goes in the certificate

The Act lists the contents in s. 76 (1) (a) to (s), and the regulation adds more in O. Reg. 48/01, s. 18 (1). Among them:

• the common expenses for the unit and any default in paying them (s. 76 (1) (a));
• any increase in common expenses declared since the budget, and any assessment levied to increase the reserve fund contribution, with the reasons (s. 76 (1) (b) and (c));
• the current declaration, by-laws and rules (s. 76 (1) (f));
• the budget for the current fiscal year, the last audited financial statements and the auditor's report (s. 76 (1) (i));
• the most recent reserve fund study, the reserve fund balance at the end of a month within 90 days of the certificate's date, and any plan to increase the fund (s. 76 (1) (m));
• a certificate or memorandum of insurance for each current policy (s. 76 (1) (p));
• whether a certificate of lien has been registered against the unit (O. Reg. 48/01, s. 18 (1) (c)).

If a certificate leaves out material information it is required to contain, "it shall be deemed to include a statement that there is no such information" (s. 76 (4)). An empty box is read as "none", so a missing line is itself a statement.

The person who asked and paid can also examine the corporation's agreements listed in the certificate, on written request and reasonable notice, and get copies for a reasonable fee (s. 76 (7) and (8)).

Keep a copy

A copy of each status certificate is a record of the corporation (O. Reg. 48/01, s. 13.1 (1), para. 1), kept "at least seven years from the date the certificate is issued" (s. 13.1 (2), para. 5). Owners can ask to see the corporation's records under the process described in our article on records requests.

A board's routine for a request

1. Write down the day the request arrived and the day the fee was paid. The later one starts the clock.
2. Gather the attachments early: the declaration, by-laws and rules, the budget, the last audited statements, the insurance certificates and the reserve fund documents rarely change between two sales.
3. Take the unit's figures from the records the day you prepare the certificate, and check the reserve fund balance date against the 90-day rule.
4. Give the certificate before day 10, and keep a copy with the date it was given.

The same budget and reserve fund documents go to every owner with the notice of the annual general meeting; see AGM notices and the preliminary notice.

Sources

• Condominium Act, 1998, S.O. 1998, c. 19, s. 76.
• O. Reg. 48/01 (General), ss. 13.1 and 18.
• Legislation Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 21, Sched. F, ss. 88 and 89.

This article summarizes the Condominium Act, 1998 and its regulations as of October 21, 2026. It is general information, not legal advice. For a decision about your corporation, consult an Ontario condominium lawyer.