What is a Status Certificate?

In the condo world, it is not very common for agreements to contain an “inspection clause” as you would find in almost every agreement to purchase a home. The common condition that is found in condo transactions is that the agreement is conditional upon status certificate review. What exactly is a status certificate? A status certificate is a legal document that outlines the current status of a condominium corporation as well as the individual legalities of the condo itself. It essentially provides valuable information directly from the condominium corporation which can either “make or break” your condominium purchase.

Here are some items that are disclosed in the status certificate:

1)  An increase or decrease in common expenses. This can be particularly an important point for purchasers. For example, if you’re a first time home buyer you will most likely be very careful about your expenses and have probably allocated a certain amount of your income on a monthly basis to your condo payments. If your condo fees state they are $250.00 a month when you purchase the unit, but the status certificate discloses they will be increasing to $500.00 by the time you close, this may put a strain on your affordability to buy the condo.

2)  Any major work being planned to the building such as replacing the roof or replacing the elevators. These type of repairs can be very costly and can have direct impact on each individual condo unit. They could in return increase your monthly common expenses or induce a special assessment which can directly affect the reserve fund of the condominium which is discussed in the next point.

3) The amount of the reserve fund and whether the reserve fund is healthy. If for some reason it is not, a special assessment may take place resulting in additional financial contributions from each condo owner.  There are accounts of unit owners having to come up with $20 000 each to contribute to the reserve fund in order to maintain it’s health. This can be a very large expense put on each owner.

4) Specifics about the unit itself are also disclosed in the status certificate. Such items include: legal description of the unit, whether maintenance fees are up to date, if any claims or outstanding payments are affiliated with the unit at hand.


As you can see, the status certificate is an essential document that must be reviewed when contemplating the purchase of a condominium. It contains all of the financial statements of the condo corporation, it’s declaration and also by-laws. You may not think by-laws are all that important, but what happens if you have a dog? The by-laws will outline pet rules in the condo as many condos do not allow pets.  It is very important that whenever you purchase a condo to ensure that your offer is conditional upon status certificate review. Too many times, it is forgotten how truly important this document is and how it can potentially save you from making a mistake that can cause you financial strain down the road.