Civil Code of Quebec

Neighbours shall suffer the normal neighbourhood annoyances that are not beyond the limit of tolerance they owe each other, according to the nature or location of their land or local usage.

Divided co-ownership of an immovable is established by publication of a declaration under which ownership of the immovable is divided into fractions belonging to one or several persons.

Upon the publication of the declaration of co-ownership, the co-owners as a body constitute a legal person, the objects of which are the preservation of the immovable, the maintenance and administration of the common portions, the protection of the rights appurtenant to the immovable or the co-ownership, as well as all business in the common interest. The legal person must, in particular, see to it that the work necessary for the preservation and maintenance of the immovable is carried out.

The legal person is called a syndicate.

Those portions of the buildings and land that are owned by a specific co-owner and are for his exclusive use are called the private portions.

The following are presumed to be common portions: the ground, yards, verandas or balconies, parks and gardens, access ways, stairways and elevators, passageways and halls, common service areas, parking and storage areas, basements, foundations and main walls of buildings, and common equipment and apparatus, such as the central heating and air-conditioning systems and the piping and wiring, including that which runs through private portions.

Partitions or walls that are not part of the foundations and main walls of a building but which separate a private portion from a common portion or from another private portion are presumed common.

Each co-owner has an undivided right of ownership in the common portions. His share of the common portions is equal to the relative value of his fraction.

Notwithstanding articles 2650 and 2662, a hypothec, any additional security accessory thereto or any prior claims existing at the time of registration of the declaration of co-ownership on the whole of an immovable held in co-ownership are divided among the fractions according to the relative value of each or according to any other established proportion.

Each fraction constitutes a distinct entity and may be alienated in whole or in part; the alienation includes, in each case, the share of the common portions appurtenant to the fraction, as well as the right to use the common portions for restricted use, where applicable.

The share of the common portions appurtenant to a fraction may not, separately from the private portion of the fraction, be the subject of alienation or an action in partition.

The registration of an act concerning a private portion is valid with regard to the share of the common portions appurtenant to it, without any requirement to make an entry under the registration number of the common portions.

Alienation of a divided part of a private portion is without effect unless the declaration of co-ownership and the cadastral plan have been altered prior to the alienation so as to create a new fraction, describe it, give it a separate cadastral number and determine its relative value, or to record the alterations made to the boundaries between contiguous private portions.

The declaration of co-ownership binds the co-owners, their successors and the persons who signed it, and produces its effects towards them from the time of its registration.

Each co-owner has the disposal of his fraction; he has free use and enjoyment of his private portion and of the common portions, provided he complies with the by-laws of the immovable and does not impair the rights of the other co-owners or the destination of the immovable.

A declaration of co-ownership comprises the act constituting the co-ownership, the by-laws of the immovable and a description of the fractions.

Each co-owner shall take out third person liability insurance the minimum compulsory amount of which is determined by government regulation.

A co-owner who, as a result of work carried out, suffers injury in the form of a permanent diminution in the value of his fraction, a grave disturbance to enjoyment, even if temporary, or through deterioration, is entitled to obtain an indemnity from the syndicate if the syndicate ordered the work or, if it did not, from the co-owners who did the work.

No declaration of co-ownership may impose any restriction on the rights of the co-owners except restrictions justified by the destination, characteristics or location of the immovable.

Non en vigueur
A person who sells a fraction shall, in due time, give the promisor a certificate of the syndicate attesting to the condition of the immovable held in co-ownership, whose form and content are determined by government regulation.

For that purpose, the syndicate gives the certificate to a co-owner who so requests, within 15 days.
Those obligations exist from the appointment of a new board of directors, after the developer loses control of the syndicate.

The by-laws of the immovable may be set up against the lessee or occupant of a private portion upon his being given a copy of the by-laws or the amendments to them by the co-owner or, if not by him, by the syndicate.

Not in force

The board of directors causes a maintenance log to be established for the immovable which describes, in particular, maintenance done and maintenance required. The board of directors keeps the log up to date and has it reviewed periodically.

The form and content of the maintenance log and the manner in which it is kept and reviewed, as well as the persons who may establish and review it, are determined by government regulation.

The syndicate establishes, according to the estimated cost of major repairs and the cost of replacement of common portions, a contingency fund to be used exclusively for such repairs and replacement. The fund must be partly liquid and be available at short notice, and its capital must be guaranteed. The syndicate is the owner of the fund, and the fund’s use is determined by the board of directors.

The board of directors shall consult the general meeting of the co-owners before deciding on any special contribution to the common expenses.

A co-owner’s non-compliance with a condition of the insurance contract may not be set up against the syndicate.

Where insurance against the same risks and covering the same property has been taken out separately by the syndicate and a co-owner, the insurance taken out by the syndicate constitutes primary insurance.

The syndicate may grant a movable hypothec only after obtaining the authorization of the general meeting of the co-owners.

The syndicate is liable for damage caused to the co-owners or third persons by faulty design, construction defects or lack of maintenance of the common portions, without prejudice to any recursory action.

The syndicate may demand the resiliation of the lease of a private portion, after notifying the lessor and the lessee, where the non-performance of an obligation by the lessee causes serious injury to a co-owner or to another occupant of the immovable.

The syndicate, within six months of being notified by the owner of an immovable under emphyteusis or superficies that he intends to transfer by onerous title his rights in the immovable, may acquire such rights in preference to any other potential acquirer during that period. If it is not notified of the planned transfer, it may, within six months from the time it learns that a third person has acquired the owner’s rights, acquire such rights from that person by reimbursing him for the transfer price and the costs he has paid.

The syndicate may join an association of co-ownership syndicates formed for the creation, administration and maintenance of common services for several immovables held in co-ownership, or for the pursuit of common interests.

The syndicate may, as its own expense, obtain the plans and specifications of the immovable that are in the possession of an architect or engineer, who is bound to provide them to the syndicate on request.

The board of directors shall send to the co-owners the minutes of every decision made at a meeting or every resolution in writing passed by the board within 30 days of the meeting or of the passage of the resolution.

Any co-owner or director may apply to the court to annul or, exceptionally, to amend a decision of the board of directors if the decision is biased or was made with intent to injure the co-owners or in contempt of their rights. The action is forfeited unless instituted within 90 days after the decision of the board of directors.

In addition to the rules in article 341, where the directors are prevented from acting as a majority or in the specified proportion owing to an impediment or the systematic opposition of some of them, the court may, on the application of a director or co-owner, make any order it sees fit in the circumstances.

If circumstances warrant it, the court may replace the board of directors by a provisional administrator and determine the terms and conditions governing his administration.

The notice calling the annual general meeting of the co-owners shall be accompanied, in addition to the balance sheet, by the income statement for the preceding financial period, the statement of debts and claims, the budget forecast, any draft amendment to the declaration of co-ownership and a note on the essential terms and conditions of any proposed contract or planned work.

A meeting may be held by the use of a means which allows all those participating to communicate directly with each other.

Co-owners who participate in a meeting by the use of a means which allows all those participating to communicate directly with each other may vote by any means enabling votes to be cast in a way that allows them to be verified afterwards and protects the secrecy of the vote when such a ballot has been requested.

Where, in a co-ownership comprising fewer than five fractions, a co-owner is entitled to more than one-half of all the votes available to the co-owners, the number of votes to which he is entitled at a meeting is reduced to the total number of votes to which the other co-owners present or represented at the meeting are entitled.

Any person who, at the time of registration of a declaration of co-ownership, owns at least one-half of all the fractions, or his successors, other than a person who in good faith acquires a fraction for a price equal to its market value with the intention of occupying it, is considered to be a developer.

Any co-owner who has not paid his share of the common expenses for more than three months is deprived of his right to vote. He may once again exercise that right as soon as he has paid all the common expenses he owes.

Only assignments of the voting rights of a co-owner which have been declared to the syndicate may be set up against it.

Decisions of the syndicate, including a decision to amend the by-laws of the immovable or to correct a clerical error in the declaration of co-ownership, are taken by a majority vote of the co-owners present or represented at the meeting.

Decisions concerning the following matters are made by co-owners representing three-quarters of the votes of the co-owners present or represented:

Decisions on the following matters require a majority of three-quarters of the co-owners representing 90% of the votes of all the co-owners:

Any stipulation in the declaration of co-ownership that changes the number of votes required to make a decision under this chapter is deemed unwritten.

Any decision of the syndicate which, contrary to the declaration of co-ownership, imposes on a co-owner a change in the relative value of his fraction or a change of destination of his private portion is without effect.

The board of directors shall send to the co-owners the minutes of every general meeting or every resolution in writing passed by a general meeting within 30 days of the general meeting or of the passage of the resolution.

Where the co-owners are prevented from acting as a majority or in the specified proportion owing to an impediment or the systematic opposition of some of them, the court may, on the application of a co-owner, make any order it sees fit in the circumstances.

Within 30 days of the special meeting, the developer shall provide the following to the syndicate:

Not in force
(1)  the maintenance log kept for the immovable and the contingency fund study;

(2)  where the immovable is new or has been renovated by the developer, the plans and specifications showing any substantial changes made to it during construction or renovation in comparison with the original plans and specifications;
(3)  the other plans and specifications relating to the immovable that are available;
(4)  the location certificates relating to the immovable that are available;
(5)  the description of the private portions provided for in article 1070; and
(6)  any other document or information prescribed by government regulation.
The developer is liable for any injury resulting from his failure to provide such documents and information.

The new board of directors may, within 60 days after the election, terminate without penalty a contract entered into before the election by the syndicate for maintenance of the immovable or for other services, if the term of the contract exceeds one year.

Where a fraction of an immovable under divided co-ownership is sold, the memorandum contains a statement of the leases granted by the developer or the builder on the private or common portions of the immovable and indicates the maximum number of fractions intended for lease by the developer or builder.

Where the developer or builder grants a lease in excess of the maximum number indicated in the memorandum, the syndicate of co-owners, after notifying the lessor and the lessee, may demand the resiliation of the lease. If there are several leases in excess of the maximum number, the most recent leases shall be resiliated first.

The sale of a fraction of an immovable under co-ownership may be resolved without formality where the declaration of co-ownership is not registered within 30 days after the date on which it may be registered pursuant to the Book on Publication of Rights.

The sale by a contractor of land belonging to him, along with an existing or planned residential immovable, is subject to the rules pertaining to warranties in contracts of enterprise or for services, adapted as required. Those rules also apply to sales by a property developer.

Only the following claims may give rise to a legal hypothec:

The legal hypothec of a syndicate of co-owners charges the fraction of the co-owner who has defaulted for more than 30 days on payment of his common expenses, and has effect only from registration of a notice indicating the nature of the claim, the amount owing on the day the notice is registered, and the expected amount of charges and claims for the current financial year and the next two years.