When you buy a resale condo in Ontario, the condominium corporation produces a status certificate — a document required by section 76 of the Condominium Act, 1998. It is not a free-form letter. It is a prescribed form under O. Reg. 48/01, with 34 numbered paragraphs, and the corporation must deliver it within 10 days of receiving the request and the fee (capped at $100, including tax, per the Condominium Authority of Ontario).
That structure is good news for buyers. Because every corporation answers the same numbered questions, you can read your certificate against a checklist. Below are the paragraphs that carry most of the financial and legal information, in the order they appear. None of this replaces your lawyer's review — it prepares you for it.
The money paragraphs
Paragraph 5 — arrears on the unit
This paragraph states whether the current owner of the unit is in default on common expenses, the dollar amount, and whether a certificate of lien has been registered against the unit. Any amount filled in here is a direct question for your lawyer: what happens to that arrears figure on closing?
Paragraph 9 — the budget: surplus or deficit
The corporation states whether the current budget is accurate and whether it may result in a surplus or a deficit, with a dollar figure. A stated deficit is one of the clearest disclosures in the whole form — the corporation itself is saying its spending may exceed its budget this year.
Paragraph 10 — fee increases since the budget was set
If common expenses have increased since the budget date, this paragraph gives the amount per month and the stated reason. A mid-year increase means the original budget did not hold.
Paragraph 11 — assessments levied since the budget date
This paragraph discloses any assessments the corporation has levied since the budget date to top up the reserve fund, the operating fund, or for any other purpose — with the amounts. A recent special assessment appears here.
Paragraph 12 — known circumstances that may increase common expenses
The corporation must disclose circumstances it knows about that may result in higher common expenses, including any anticipated assessment, with particulars. This is where a looming cost that has not yet been levied is supposed to surface.
The reserve fund paragraphs
Paragraph 13 — the reserve fund balance
The dollar amount in the reserve fund, as of a date no earlier than the end of a month within the previous 90 days. This is the corporation's savings account for major repairs and replacements.
Paragraph 14 — the reserve fund study
Which class of study was done, when, by whom, and when the next one is due — or a statement that no study has been conducted. A missing or long-overdue study is itself information.
Paragraph 15 — contributions, spending, and the board's adequacy statement
This paragraph sets out the fund's opening balance, the annual contribution, the unit's share, anticipated expenditures for the year, and the board's own statement that it anticipates the reserve fund will — or will not — be adequate. Read that sentence carefully; the corporation writes it about itself.
Paragraph 16 — the funding plan
If the board sent owners a notice under s.94(9), this paragraph summarizes the study and the funding plan, and states whether the proposed plan has been implemented — and if not, why. A plan that differs from the study, or has not been implemented, is a question to write down.
The legal paragraphs
Paragraph 18 — outstanding judgments
Any outstanding judgments against the corporation, with amounts and particulars.
Paragraph 19 — litigation
Whether the corporation is a party to any proceeding before a court, an arbitrator, or an administrative tribunal, with particulars and status. Disclosure here does not tell you the outcome or the cost — it tells you a proceeding exists.
Paragraph 22 — inspector or administrator
Whether a court-appointed inspector (s.130) or administrator (s.131) is in effect. This is rare, and it means a court has become involved in how the corporation is run — a serious item for your lawyer.
Don't stop at the cover form
Paragraph 33 lists the attachments: the declaration, by-laws and rules, the current budget, the most recent audited financial statements and auditor's report, the certificate or memorandum of insurance for each policy, and — where applicable — the s.94(9) reserve-fund notice. Much of the substance lives in these attachments rather than in the numbered paragraphs, which is why lawyers read the whole package.
A practical way to use this checklist: go paragraph by paragraph, note every blank that has been filled in with an amount, a reason, or an "except…" clause, and bring that list to your lawyer. The certificate is designed to disclose; your job as a buyer is simply to notice what it disclosed.