Ontario | Buying
Ontario Status Certificate: What It Shows, the Fee and the Deadline
A status certificate is the condo corporation's official statement about one unit and the corporation itself: the unit's fees and any arrears, the budget, the reserve fund, insurance, lawsuits and planned changes. Buyers and lenders rely on it before closing. The Condominium Act, 1998 caps the fee at $100 and gives the corporation 10 days to deliver it.
The short answer
- The corporation must give a status certificate to anyone who asks and pays (s. 76(1)). The CAO: "Anyone can request a status certificate."
- Due within 10 days after the request and the fee (s. 76(3)).
- The fee cannot pass $100, including all taxes and all required attachments (O. Reg. 48/01 s. 18(4)).
- If it is late, the corporation is deemed to have given one the next day saying there is no default and no fee increase since the budget.
- It binds the corporation as of its date toward a buyer or lender who relies on it.
What the certificate must include
It must be titled "Status Certificate" and use the form the CAO specifies and the Minister approved (O. Reg. 48/01 s. 18(2)).
- The unit's common expenses and any default, and any increase declared since the budget, with the reason.
- Any reserve fund or operating fund assessments since the budget.
- The budget, the last audited financial statements and the auditor's report, and whether the budget is accurate.
- The latest reserve fund study and updates, the reserve fund balance at a month end within 90 days, and plans to increase it.
- The current declaration, by-laws and rules, and current agreements, including management agreements.
- Outstanding judgments and legal actions, and any registered lien on the unit.
- Insurance certificates, and whether all required insurance is in place.
- Substantial proposed changes to the common elements, assets or services.
- The number of units leased in the last fiscal year.
- The directors and officers, the manager, the address for service, and any owner alteration or EV charger agreement for the unit.
Late, incomplete or wrong
- Late: the corporation is deemed to have issued one on the 11th day stating there is no default, no increase in common expenses since the budget and no reserve fund assessment (s. 76(5)).
- Missing information is deemed a statement that there is none (s. 76(4)).
- Binding: a buyer or lender who relies on the certificate can hold the corporation to it as of its date (s. 76(6)).
For a small corporation that issues its own
In a self-managed condo the board issues the certificate. Keep the budget, the latest audited statements, the reserve fund study and the insurance certificate current, because each one goes into every certificate. Status certificates issued are records the corporation must keep (O. Reg. 48/01 s. 13.1). Anyone can also ask the corporation, free of charge, for the name and address of whoever issues its status certificates (s. 77).
Changes to watch
A CAO news item dated September 18, 2026 describes a consultation on wider status certificate contents that would start on December 31, 2026 if approved. We found no filed regulation for it on e-Laws on 31 October 2026.
Read on e-Laws and the Condominium Authority of Ontario's site on 31 October 2026. Section numbers are from the Condominium Act, 1998 and its regulations as consolidated that day. Your declaration and by-laws can add rules of their own.
Common questions
What is a status certificate in Ontario? +
The condo corporation's statement about one unit and the corporation: fees and arrears, the budget, reserve fund, insurance, lawsuits and planned changes, with the governing documents attached.
How much does a status certificate cost in Ontario? +
No more than $100, including all applicable taxes and all the material that must be included.
How long does a condo have to provide a status certificate? +
10 days after it receives the request and the fee.
What happens if the status certificate is late? +
The corporation is deemed to have given one the next day stating there is no default, no increase in common expenses since the budget and no reserve fund assessment, and it is bound by that.
Who can request a status certificate? +
Anyone. The Act says each person who requests one and pays the fee, and the CAO says anyone can request one.
Is the status certificate binding? +
Yes. It binds the corporation as of its date toward a purchaser or mortgagee who relies on it.
Does the status certificate show the reserve fund? +
Yes: the latest reserve fund study and updates, the balance at a month end within 90 days, and any plan to increase it.
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