What is a status certificate and what is in it?
The condo corporation's disclosure package about the unit and the corporation: fees, arrears, budget, reserve fund, insurance, litigation, rules and any planned special assessment. The corporation must produce it within ten days and the fee is capped by regulation.
It is the single most important document in a condo purchase and it is cheap, because the maximum fee is prescribed by regulation and includes taxes.
What it contains: the current common expense fee and whether the unit is in arrears, the corporation's budget and audited financial statements, the reserve fund balance and the reserve fund study, the insurance certificate, disclosure of any litigation involving the corporation, the declaration, by-laws and rules, and disclosure of any special assessment that has been levied or that the board is aware of.
The corporation has ten days from a proper request. In a competitive market that timeline is the problem: you either order it before the offer date, or you keep a condition on reviewing it, or you bid blind.
Having it is not the same as understanding it. Have your lawyer report on it. The material problems are in the reserve fund study and the litigation disclosure, and they are not written to be obvious.
Next questions
What should my lawyer look for in a status certificate?
Reserve fund adequacy against the reserve fund study, any pending or contemplated special assessment, litigation, the insurance deductible chargeable back to owners, arrears on the unit, and rules affecting pets, rentals and parking.
Ontario
What is a special assessment and can I be hit with one?
A one-time charge levied on every owner when the reserve fund cannot cover necessary work. It is not optional, it is a lien on your unit if unpaid, and nothing in this app can size one for you: the amount depends on the work and on your unit's share of it, and the status certificate is where any figure for your building exists.
Ontario