In standard or regular condominiums, buildings are divided into units. Typically, these will be apartment-style units. This is the most straightforward and traditional way of developing a condominium. The process involves dividing a new building or buildings into units, or converting an existing building to units.
The condominium plan can describe the boundaries of the units. If it does not, default provisions in The Condominium Property Act, 1993 (“the Act”), apply. For those plans registered before January 1, 1995, the default provision stated that the boundary of the unit was the mid-point between the two units or between a unit and common property. For condominium plans registered or approved after January 1, 1995, the default provision in the Act provides that doors and windows and decorated interior surfaces are part of the unit. As of April 1st, 2015 a Standard Unit Description must be provided along with an application to raise first title.
The first step in developing a condominium is to obtain plan approval pursuant to The Land Surveys Act, 2000. For more information about plan approval, please refer to our Condominium Guide or contact Plan Processing at ISC by calling our Customer Support Team.
After the plan is approved, and a Transform Approval Certificate (TAC) issued, the developer is in a position to apply to Land Registry for titles to the new units. When the titles are issued, the condominium corporation comes into existence. Note there are security requirements managed by the Office of Public Registry Administration who may be contacted here.
Note that under section 11 of the Act there are now a few options available to condo owners and developers regarding titled parking units and common property (known as "services units" once titled). The Act allows for a residential unit to have a parking unit, where each residential unit title will be linked to a parking unit titles. Alternatively, a residential unit may have a parking space, which is shown as an interest on the residential unit title.
Note recent changes to the legislation limit conversion units (where an existing building is converted into a residential unit) where the vacancy rate for rental accommodations is below the prescribed rate. Please consult The Condominium Property Regulations, 2001 or the Office of the Public Registry Administration here for further information.
In most cases, preparing Land Registry packets for Regular Condominiums can be submitted more quickly and efficiently though Online Submission (OLS). Check out the links below for more information on submitting your packet using OLS. If your packet contains more than 100 applications, please contact 1-866-275-4721 before using Online Submission.