Lawyer for condominium syndicates in Quebec

Condominium syndicates

A tool the syndicate
alone possesses.

When a co-owner stops paying his common expenses, the shortfall does not disappear: it is spread over the others. The syndicate does, however, hold a lever few creditors have, a legal hypothec on the fraction of the defaulting co-owner.

It still has to be published correctly, for the right amounts and within the right deadlines. A legal hypothec miscalculated, or allowed to lapse three years after publication, deprives the syndicate of its best security, and the board then has to explain the loss to the meeting.

We act for condominium syndicates and property managers across the whole chain: calculating the claim, giving notice to the co-owner, publishing in the land register, cancelling after payment, and the remedies for when publication is not enough.

Divided co-ownership, the syndicate’s legal hypothec and the hypothecary remedies are set out in the Civil Code of Québec, notably at article 2729, and their exercise before the courts falls under the Code of Civil Procedure.

What we do

From notice to the co-owner
to sale under judicial authority.

Legal hypothec for common expenses

Calculating the amount owing, notice to the co-owner, drafting and publishing the notice of legal hypothec in the land register, then cancelling it once the account is settled. The amount published must match what the law allows, no more and no less.

Recovering unpaid common expenses

Demand letter, payment arrangement where one is realistic, court application and enforcement of the judgment. See also our debt recovery page for the mechanics of seizure and enforcement.

Hypothecary remedies

Where publication produces no payment: prior notice published in the land register, the period to surrender, then sale under judicial authority or taking in payment. Each step is formal, and a defect in form sends the process back to the start.

Insurance deductibles and water damage

Claiming the deductible from the co-owner where the loss originates in his private portion, reviewing the declaration of co-ownership and the policy, assembling the evidence and following the file through to recovery.

Disputes with contractors

Renovation work poorly performed, overruns billed, defects and latent construction defects, holdbacks in dispute. The syndicate ends up on both sides: sometimes creditor of a co-owner, sometimes defendant to a contractor.

Advice to the board of directors

Legal opinions on applying and amending the declaration of co-ownership, preparing meetings and resolutions, injunctions to stop a prohibited use, and day-to-day support for property managers.

Services

Legal hypothecs for unpaid charges
Recovery of common expenses
Hypothecary remedies
Insurance deductible claims
Disputes with contractors

Frequently asked questions

What we are asked most.

When can the syndicate publish a legal hypothec?

As soon as the co-owner has been in default for more than thirty days in paying his share of the common expenses or his contribution to the contingency fund. The syndicate’s legal hypothec then charges his fraction and may be published for the amounts due for the current financial year and the three years that follow, under article 2729 of the Civil Code of Québec.

Is the legal hypothec enough to get the co-owner to pay?

Often, yes: once published in the land register it blocks any sale or refinancing of the unit in practice, and the notary will require its cancellation at closing. Where it is not enough, the syndicate may exercise its hypothecary rights, starting with a prior notice published in the land register.

How long does the legal hypothec last?

It is extinguished three years after its publication unless the syndicate has in the meantime published an action against the co-owner or a prior notice of the exercise of a hypothecary right. That deadline goes in the board’s calendar on the day of publication, because nothing will remind it later.

Can the syndicate recover the insurance deductible after water damage?

Where the loss originates in a co-owner’s private portion or in property under his care, the syndicate may claim the deductible from him. The basis, the recoverable amount and the evidence required vary with the declaration of co-ownership, the policy and the circumstances, which is why the file is worth analysing before the claim goes out.

Do you also act for property managers?

Yes. We work with managers as well as with boards of directors: legal opinions, demand letters, recovery files handled in series, disputes with contractors and preparation of meetings. The manager stays the day-to-day contact, the syndicate remains the client.

Two useful texts for a board of directors: the demand letter, the first step in almost every unpaid-expenses file, and our debt recovery page for what follows.