Know what you're buying into before you firm up.

Choose your province

Condo law is provincial, so the documents, deadlines and buyer protections change once you cross a border. Pick your province for the rules, the documents to request and the cities we cover.

• Alberta: information statement, reserve fund study and plan, bylaws and minutes
• British Columbia (Strata): Form B, depreciation report, strata bylaws and council minutes
• Saskatchewan: the detailed Form GG estoppel certificate and reserve fund study
• Manitoba: the seller's disclosure package, status certificate and 7-day cooling-off period
• Ontario: status certificate package, reserve fund study and core records
• Nova Scotia: estoppel certificate with 24 months of minutes attached
• New Brunswick: estoppel certificate, declaration, bylaws and reserve fund study
• Prince Edward Island: common expense certificate and records requested through the seller
• Newfoundland and Labrador: estoppel certificate and a 10-day right to cancel

Explore buildings

CondoShield's building database covers tens of thousands of condo and strata buildings across Canada. Look up a building before you book a showing, see when it was built and how big it is, then order a review once you have the documents.

Buying a condo means buying into a corporation. Along with your unit you take on a share of the building's roof, elevators, parkade, insurance and debts, and you agree to live by rules other owners wrote. The paperwork tells you whether that corporation is healthy. CondoShield reads it for you, flags what matters, and explains it in plain language before your conditions run out.

Why the documents matter more than the showing

A suite can look perfect while the building around it is in trouble. The things that cost owners the most rarely show up on a walkthrough:

• An underfunded reserve fund. When the savings account for major repairs is short, owners make up the gap through special assessments or steep fee increases.
• Big repairs already on the horizon. Engineering reports and board minutes often discuss failing windows, leaking parkades or roof replacement years before anyone sends a bill.
• Insurance shocks. Rising premiums and high water-damage deductibles can land on individual owners through the bylaws.
• Lawsuits and disputes. Claims against the corporation, or a long fight with a developer, can tie up money and make units harder to sell or finance.
• Rules that don't fit your plans. Rental limits, pet restrictions and short-term rental bans are common, and they bind you the day you take possession.

Every province gives buyers some way to get this information, but the documents have different names and arrive in different forms. In British Columbia it's a strata, with a Form B Information Certificate and a depreciation report. In Ontario it's a status certificate package. In Alberta the corporation's information statement and supporting records tell the story. A review turns that stack into a clear answer: what you're buying into, what it's likely to cost, and what to ask before you firm up.

Who we help

• Buyers who want to know what they're signing before their condition date.
• Realtors who want their clients to firm up with confidence and fewer surprises after closing.
• Lawyers who want a detailed read of the corporation's records alongside their own closing work.
• Owners who want an independent look at their own building's finances or an upcoming vote.

Ready when your documents are

Most condition periods are short, and the document package can run to hundreds of pages. Send it to us as soon as it arrives and we'll tell you what it means.

Order a review

General information, not legal advice. Condo laws, forms and fees change; confirm details with the official source or a lawyer before you rely on them.