In a self-managed corporation, the person who notices a missed payment first is usually a volunteer treasurer. Ontario gives that treasurer a short, fixed window to protect the corporation, and the legal results on this topic are mostly written for lawyers and managers. This guide explains the clock in plain terms, so the board knows when to act and when to call its lawyer.
Why the corporation has a lien at all
Owners must contribute to the common expenses in the proportions set out in the declaration (Condominium Act, 1998, s. 84 (1)). No owner can opt out, even by giving up the use of the common elements, by having a claim against the corporation, or because the rules restrict their use (s. 84 (3)).
If an owner defaults, the corporation "has a lien against the owner's unit and its appurtenant common interest for the unpaid amount together with all interest owing and all reasonable legal costs and reasonable expenses" incurred to collect it (s. 85 (1)). The lien exists from the default. What the corporation has to do is keep it alive.
The three-month clock
"The lien expires three months after the default that gave rise to the lien occurred unless the corporation within that time registers a certificate of lien in a form prescribed by the Minister" (s. 85 (2)).
Three things follow for the treasurer.
- The clock starts with the default, not with the board noticing it. For a monthly contribution, that is normally the day the payment was due.
- Each default starts its own clock. The lien for a contribution missed on March 1 expires three months later, around June 1; April's, around July 1.
- Months, not days. The Act says three months. Do not convert it to 90 days in a spreadsheet: across some months the two differ.
The 10-day notice to the owner
"At least 10 days before the day a certificate of lien is registered, the corporation shall give written notice of the lien to the owner whose unit is affected by the lien" (s. 85 (4)).
So the real deadline for the board is earlier than three months. The notice has to go out, and 10 full days have to pass, with the registration still landing inside the three months. A board that waits until the last week of the window has already lost that default's lien.
Notice to the mortgage lender
On or before the day the certificate is registered, the corporation must also give written notice of the lien to every encumbrancer registered against the unit's title, by personal service or registered prepaid mail (s. 86 (3) and (4)). Without it, the lien loses its priority over that encumbrance (s. 86 (5)). A late notice still gives priority, but only for the arrears that accrued in the three months before the notice and after it, with interest and reasonable costs (s. 86 (6)).
Priority matters because a registered lien normally ranks ahead of every registered and unregistered encumbrance, including an earlier mortgage, subject to a few exceptions such as municipal taxes (s. 86 (1)).
What one registration covers
A registered certificate of lien covers (s. 85 (3)):
- every lien the corporation has on that unit that has not expired at the time of registration;
- every later default on that unit's common expenses;
- the interest and the reasonable legal costs and expenses of collection, including the cost of preparing and registering the certificate and its discharge.
Once the certificate is registered, the later arrears on that unit are covered without a new registration each month. Before it is registered, each month's clock runs on its own.
Other tools the Act gives the corporation
- A leased unit. If the owner of a leased unit defaults, the corporation may require the tenant, by written notice, to pay it the lesser of the default and the rent due, with a copy to the owner; the tenant's payment counts as rent (s. 87).
- The mortgagee. Every mortgage of a unit is deemed to let the mortgagee pay the owner's unpaid common expenses and collection costs, and to make the owner's default a default under the mortgage (s. 88 (1)). On request, the corporation must give the mortgagee a free statement of the contributions and any default (s. 88 (2)).
- Enforcement. The lien "may be enforced in the same manner as a mortgage" (s. 85 (6)). That is a lawyer's step.
- Discharge. Once the amounts are paid, the corporation prepares and registers a discharge and tells the owner in writing (s. 85 (7)).
Arrears thresholds a treasurer should track
| Arrears reach | Effect | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 30 days | The owner cannot consent to waive the audit (fewer than 25 units) or to dispense with information certificates, until paid | Act, s. 60 (6); O. Reg. 48/01, s. 11.4 (3) |
| 60 days | A director with arrears this old is named in the periodic information certificate | O. Reg. 48/01, s. 11.1 (1) (d) (iii) |
| 3 months from each default | That default's lien expires unless a certificate is registered | Act, s. 85 (2) |
| 90 days after a lien is registered on a director's unit | The director ceases to be a director unless the lien is discharged | Act, s. 29 (2) (d) |
A treasurer's routine
- Record each contribution's due date and the date it was actually paid.
- On the first missed payment, contact the owner, and note the date three months later as that default's lien deadline.
- If the arrears are not settled well before that deadline, bring it to the board and to the corporation's lawyer early enough for the 10-day owner notice, the lender notice and the registration to all fit inside the window.
- After registration, keep tracking: the certificate covers later defaults on the unit, and the discharge has to be registered once everything is paid.
The corporation's lawyer prepares and registers the certificate of lien on the prescribed form. This guide is about knowing the dates in time to ask.
The arrears data also feeds the periodic information certificate, and the yearly budget and reserve fund contribution, set after each reserve fund study, decide what each unit owes in the first place. For the rest of the board's calendar, see running a self-managed condo corporation in Ontario.
Sources
- Condominium Act, 1998, S.O. 1998, c. 19, ss. 29 (2) (d), 60 (6) and 84 to 88.
- O. Reg. 48/01 (General), ss. 11.1 (1) (d) and 11.4 (3).
This guide 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.