Since August 14, 2025, every condominium syndicate in Quebec must have a maintenance log and a contingency fund study produced by an authorized professional. Existing syndicates have until August 15, 2028 to comply. The study projects the work over at least 25 years and is revised every five years.
Picture a syndicate that finds out at a general meeting that its roof, its foundation drain and its guardrails all reach the end of their service life in the same year. The contingency fund covers the roof; the rest goes to a special assessment.
Bill 16 exists to prevent that scene. It doesn't ask syndicates to predict the future. It asks them to document it, with figures to back it up, and to contribute accordingly.
What the law requires, and since when
The regulatory framework is in place. The regulation establishing various rules on divided co-ownership was published in the Gazette officielle du Québec on July 30, 2025 and came into force on August 14, 2025. It finally gives specific content to obligations that had been left vague since the law was passed in 2019.
Three documents become mandatory: the maintenance log, the contingency fund study and the syndicate's certificate. The first two must be produced by an authorized professional. The third is given to the buyer at the time of a sale, within 15 days of the request.
The date to remember
Syndicates whose building was already under the co-owners' control on July 15, 2025 have until August 15, 2028 to obtain their first maintenance log and their first study. Three years isn't long when the schedules of qualified professionals are filling up.
Three documents, three functions
They're often confused, and that's normal: they're about the same building. They don't answer the same questions.
| What it contains | Who produces it | Frequency | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maintenance log | The inventory of components, their condition, their remaining service life and the maintenance program to follow | Engineer, architect, professional technologist or chartered appraiser | Professional review at least every 5 years, annual update by the board |
| Contingency fund study | The projection of major work and replacements over at least 25 years, and the amount to contribute | The same, plus chartered professional accountants | At least every 5 years |
| Syndicate's certificate | The legal and financial status of the co-ownership at the time of a sale | The syndicate itself | On request, within 15 days |
The log describes the building. The study translates that building into money. The certificate makes the whole thing enforceable against a buyer. A syndicate that has only the first has settled nothing, and a syndicate that orders the study without a log is building it on nothing.
Who is allowed to produce them
The regulation shuts the door on generic documents bought online. The log and the study must come from a member of a designated professional order whose work genuinely involves the management, construction, renovation or appraisal of buildings.
The second condition is the one people forget: the professional must have no connection with the building. Neither a co-owner nor an occupant. An engineer who lives in the building can't sign their own syndicate's study, even as a volunteer, even with the best intentions.
What this means in practice
A document produced by a professional who isn't designated, or by someone with an interest in the building, doesn't bring the syndicate into compliance. It will have been paid for twice: once for nothing, and once to redo it.
What the engineer looks at in a building
A serious study starts with a survey, not a spreadsheet. Here are the four families of components that shape the contribution curve of a Montreal building, and the order of magnitude of their useful service life.
- Short cycleRoof and membraneAn item that comes up quickly and that syndicates often underestimate. A properly installed elastomeric membrane lasts about twenty years, less if the drainage performs poorly.
- Short cycleBalconies and parking slabsConcrete exposed to de-icing salts deteriorates from the inside. By the time spalling is visible, the rebar has been corroding for years, and the repair costs far more than a membrane redone in time.
- Medium cycleMasonry and envelopeMortar joints are repointed in sections. It's an item that can be spread out, provided it's been planned rather than endured after a brick falls.
- Long cycleStructure, foundations and drainageThe structure outlasts everything else. The perimeter drain, on the other hand, clogs up. It's the cheapest item to maintain and the most expensive to neglect, because it drags the others down with it.
These service lives are starting points, not verdicts. A building that's well oriented, well drained and well maintained can exceed these benchmarks. A building whose drains nobody has cleaned in ten years misses them all at once.
How a 25-year projection is built
A contingency fund study isn't a work estimate. It's a financial model built on a technical survey. Here's how it's put together.
- Inventory every common component, from the garage slab to the elevator doors, with its actual quantity measured on site.
- Establish its current condition by direct observation, not by the age shown on the plans. Two roofs of the same age aren't at the same point.
- Deduce its remaining service life, taking into account exposure, the maintenance it has received and any repairs already made.
- Price the replacement at today's cost, then index it to the year the work is planned.
- Build the contribution scenario that has the money in place the day the bill arrives, without any shortfall that would force a special assessment.
The fifth step is what separates a useful study from a compliance document. A table that announces a deficit in nine years without proposing a path forward is of no use to anyone.
The floor of 5% of common expenses set out in the Civil Code remains the reference until the study has set the amount. For an aging building, it's often below what reality requires. That's precisely why the reform exists.
The maintenance log isn't a to-do list
Many boards of directors picture a cleaning schedule. The log is something else: it's the building's technical record. It describes what the building is made of, what condition it's in, and what needs to be done to make it last.
It's updated every year by the board, which records the work carried out, and reviewed by a professional at least every five years. That review isn't a formality: it's when you find that a component has aged faster than expected and correct the contribution curve before it falls behind.
Small buildings have a lighter regime
For co-ownerships with no more than eight private portions, those where none of the common portions is a building, or those with no more than three storeys, the professional review of the log moves to every ten years. The obligation to have one doesn't change.
Costly mistakes
Four situations keep coming up among syndicates that discover the reform late.
- Choosing the study on price alone. A rushed study gives itself away by the lack of an on-site survey. It makes you technically compliant and financially blind.
- Waiting until 2028. The number of authorized professionals in Quebec is limited. Syndicates that leave it to the last minute risk waiting longer and having less choice.
- Treating the study as an archive document. It should feed into the annual budget. A study filed away in a cabinet protects no one.
- Contributing the minimum and hoping for the best. Underfunding doesn't go away. It turns, later on, into a special assessment at the worst possible time.
An underfunded contingency fund doesn't disappear. It waits, and it hands you the bill at a time you didn't choose.
It's also worth recalling what the directors risk personally. A board that hasn't had the required documents produced exposes itself to civil liability toward the co-owners, and a sale can become complicated without a complete certificate.
The key dates
Four benchmarks are enough to frame a syndicate's process.
- August 14, 2025: the regulation came into force. The syndicate's certificate can be required right now, on request and within 15 days.
- August 15, 2028: deadline to have a first maintenance log and a first study, for syndicates already under the co-owners' control.
- Every 5 years: review of the study and, in most buildings, of the log.
- Every year: update of the log by the board and adjustment of the budget according to the study's projection.
A syndicate that starts the process in 2026 has time to do things properly: a complete survey, discussion at the general meeting, gradual adjustment of contributions. A syndicate that waits until 2028 will be doing last-minute compliance, and that's not the same thing.
FAQ
Our syndicate already has a contingency fund study. Is it still valid?
A recently obtained study generally remains usable for the five years following its production, provided it meets the content required by the regulation. Older documents must be redone before the August 15, 2028 deadline. A first check is simple: if the study isn't based on an on-site survey and doesn't project at least 25 years ahead, it doesn't meet the regulation.
Can we prepare the maintenance log ourselves to save money?
No. The regulation reserves the production of the log for a member of a designated professional order whose practice involves buildings and who has no connection with the building. The board of directors still keeps an important responsibility: the annual update of the log, where the work carried out during the year is recorded.
How much should be contributed to the contingency fund?
The amount comes from the study, not from a universal percentage. It depends on the age of the building, the actual condition of its components, the work already done and the replacement horizon of each one. The minimum of 5% of common expenses set out in the Civil Code is a legal floor, not a technical recommendation, and it can prove insufficient for an aging building.
What happens if the syndicate doesn't comply by 2028?
The consequences are first civil and commercial. The directors are liable to the co-owners, unit sales can become complicated without complete documents, and an informed buyer will negotiate the price down. On top of that comes the real financial risk: without a study, the syndicate discovers its needs when it's time to pay.
How long does the process take?
The length of the visit depends on the size of the building. The time needed to produce the documents is stated in the service proposal; it depends on the number of components to inventory and the availability of the syndicate's records. The limiting factor is rarely technical: it's tracking down the plans, invoices and previous reports.
Your syndicate must comply by 2028
We produce maintenance logs and contingency fund studies for condominiums in Montreal, on the South Shore, on the North Shore and elsewhere in Quebec. The timeline is stated in our written service proposal.
Discuss Your BuildingNote: This text presents the regulatory framework that applies in Quebec as of its last update. It doesn't replace an analysis of your declaration of co-ownership or a legal opinion.
Sources: Civil Code of Québec, arts. 1064.1, 1068.1, 1070.2, 1071 and 1072. Regulation establishing various rules on divided co-ownership, Gazette officielle du Québec, July 30, 2025, in force August 14, 2025. Government of Quebec, rules on the management of divided co-ownerships.