Deciding to rent a condominium involves more than just covering your monthly rent; it also includes understanding and budgeting for condo maintenance fees.
As a real estate professional with years of experience in the condo market, I’ve seen how these fees can sometimes catch tenants and new owners by surprise.
Beyond just keeping the building looking good, these fees also cover some of the less visible, yet critical aspects of a condo’s upkeep such as building insurance, security systems, and sometimes even utilities like water and heat.
Let’s dive deeper into what you can expect from your condo maintenance fees and how they contribute to your living experience.
Quick Summary
- Condo maintenance fees typically cover building maintenance and repairs, utilities for common areas, landscaping and snow removal, amenities like pools and gyms, building insurance, contributions to a reserve fund for future large repairs, and more.
- Purchasing extras like parking spots or lockers can increase monthly maintenance fees by a flat rate, with parking costing an extra $50 to $100 per month and lockers adding another $15 to $25 per month.
- Older buildings tend to have higher maintenance fees due to increased needs for repairs and updates to keep the building up to code and maintain its functionality and appearance.
What Do the Condo Maintenance Fees Cover?
Here’s a breakdown of what they typically include:
- Building Maintenance: Repairs to common areas like hallways, elevators, and roofs.
- Utilities: Water, heating, and electricity for shared spaces.
- Landscaping and Snow Removal: Keeping the property’s exterior in top shape.
- Reserve Fund Contributions: Savings for major repairs or unexpected expenses like roof replacements.
- Building Insurance: Protecting against damages or disasters like fires and floods.
- Amenities: Upkeep of gyms, pools, and in-house theatres.
Did You Know?
Older buildings often have higher fees because they require more repairs and updates to remain functional and up to code.
What Do the Maintenance Fees Include?
Maintenance fees are typically based on the size of your unit and the building’s overall needs. They are calculated per square foot, meaning larger units contribute more.
Example:
A 1,000-square-foot condo in Toronto might pay $0.75 per square foot, resulting in $750 per month in fees.
The condo board oversees the allocation of fees, ensuring contributions are made to the reserve fund for future expenses. If there are disputes, a real estate lawyer may step in to mediate.
How to Determine the Maintenance Fees?
Your real estate agent or property management agent will usually explain the details of your condominium fees and what they cover [1].
The available square footage in your condo determines the amount of the monthly fee. So, the condo association charges condo fees as a standard amount of money per square foot.
Your condo maintenance fees are directly proportional to the total square foot area of your unit. In case of any dispute, a real estate lawyer will intervene to try to resolve it.
What Is the Condominium Owner's Contribution?
The condominium owner pays a fixed amount which gets added to the building's reserve fund. They also contribute towards condo buildings insurance.
Sometimes, expenses other than repairs crop up. If the condominium landlord wishes to sell off his property, among other things, they need to complete a lot of paperwork.
They will first have to obtain a status certificate and put all papers regarding their monthly mortgage and the price of the purchase in order.
The condo's status certificate reflects its financial condition and that of the corporation it belongs to, as well.
There is also the question of property taxes and condo insurance.
Though condominium maintenance fees include a majority of the repairs, building insurance is necessary for sudden losses arising from natural calamities. For instance, the real estate sector is quite prone to disasters like earthquakes, fires, floods, etc. and insurance takes care of losses and damage arising due to these.
Do the Maintenance Fees Include Condominium Insurance?
Condominium insurance helps the owner undertake major repairs and keep their personal belongings safe. Lastly, sometimes special assessments of the property require professional services. Thus, these are factors requiring a monthly expense that the condo fees cover is insufficient.
It, therefore, makes sense that condo living includes the cost of repairs and regular maintenance charges. In the cases where a tenant is living, they become responsible for bearing such costs.
Such maintenance charges in Toronto cover pretty much all expenses related to the upkeep of the property.
Most Toronto condominiums come equipped with a varied range of amenities, some of which are in the luxury category. It makes sense that if a tenant is using or consuming the facilities, they also pay up to keep them in good shape.
Benefits of Maintenance Fees
While condo fees may seem like an additional burden, they come with advantages:
- Access to on-site amenities like fitness centers, saving you gym membership costs.
- Prime locations near workplaces and transit, reducing commuting expenses.
- Shared expenses for repairs and upkeep, avoiding unexpected costs.
Fun Fact: Many Toronto condos offer squash courts, theatres, and rooftop lounges, all included in the fees.
To sum things up, maintenance charges for tenants of a condominium are a necessary expense, but they have their advantages too. For more information, contact the PreCondo Team today.
References:
- https://www.ratehub.ca/condo-fees
