Condo Glossary

During the purchasing process – there are many documents for you and your lawyer to review.  Below is a list of some of the terminology used and their definitions, which will help guide you through the documents. For more information, you can review our Frequently Asked Questions.

Agreement of Purchase and Sale (APS)

The partnership document that outlines both your and our rights and obligations around the purchase of your condominium. It will include a number of schedules, including the floor plan, Tarion information and more! Many of the key pieces of information about the APS may be found in the My Contract section of the MyTridelHome.com portal.

Board of Directors

An elected group of homeowners whose purpose is to serve the interests of those living within the community. Once a community has registered, a Turnover meeting date is established during which the election of the Board of Directors takes place. Board members can be elected to a term of 1 to 3 years to the following roles:

  • President

  • Vice President

  • Director at Large

  • Treasurer

  • Secretary

Certificate of Completion and Possession (CCP)

A document with information specific to each home, such as the pre-tax price, Tarion enrolment number, and the date of possession (occupancy date). You will receive a copy of Tarion’s Certificate of Completion and Possession (CCP) as part of the New Home Closing Package provided to your lawyer. Tarion will require this information from you in the event of a Tarion warranty claim.

Closing

Somewhat of a generic term, often used to describe taking possession of your home on your occupancy date. Closing will either be an Interim Closing or Final Closing.

Common Elements

Areas of the condominium that are not exclusively owned. These areas include the parking garage, roof, amenities, hallways, and more. The balcony or terrace attached to your suite, is considered an Exclusive Use Common Area. This means that you may exclusively use this area, but it falls under community rules with regards to decorations and modifications.

Condominium Corporation

A corporation without share capital, created under the Condominium Act the operation, maintenance and repair of the common elements and assets of the condominium. The corporation is guided by a democratically elected Board of Directors, consisting of homeowners.

Condominium Declaration

A “charter” document that creates the condominium corporation. It defines the boundaries for each home and the common elements. It allocates responsibility for the repair and maintenance of the home and common elements; outlines the condominium’s provisions regarding occupancy and use (e.g., the Rules and Regulations); specifies common expenses and each owner’s proportionate interest in the common elements; and details each owner’s percentage ownership share of the overall common expenses.

Condominium Ownership

The ownership of a condominium involves 2 aspects:

  1. Separate ownership and title of your home.

  2. Shared ownership and costs of maintaining and repairing the common elements, which are shared by all homeowners.

Disclosure Statement

A summary of the significant features of the proposed condominium, and the relevant condominium documents governing the same.

Exclusive Use Common Elements

Areas within the condominium’s common areas which homeowners have the exclusive right to use and enjoy (e.g., balconies or terraces).

Final Closing

The process through which you will receive Title to your home. If you interim close before the community registered, you will be notified of your Final Closing Date which will typically take place four to six weeks after registration. If your occupancy date occurs after this time, you skip the Interim Closing process and will move to a straight final closing. Mortgages will begin at Final Closing.

Final Tentative Occupancy Date

Occupancy dates progress from tentative, to final tentative and then to firm. Your Final Tentative Occupancy Date is established once the roof is completed for your community. This date will be established no later than 90 days prior to your Tentative Occupancy Date, and you will be notified within 30 days of the roof assembly date. A Final Tentative Date may be extended only once, by a maximum of 120 days. If your Final Tentative Occupancy Date is extended, or at 90 days prior to your Final Tentative Occupancy Date, your occupancy date will become a Firm Occupancy Date.

Firm Occupancy Date

Occupancy dates progress from tentative, to final tentative and then to firm. Your occupancy date becomes firm if your Final Tentative Date is extended or at 90 days prior to your current Final Tentative Date. Once your date is firm, we generally do not have further changes to your occupancy date and will only move your date in the case of an unforeseen emergency (e.g., trade strike or material delay).

Homeowners Insurance

Insurance that is required under your Agreement of Purchase and Sale. Home insurance will generally cover your contents, living expenses, and personal liability. It is important to review and understand the limitations in your policy to make sure you are adequately protected.

Homeowner Orientation (HOO)

An orientation to your new community which includes the Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI) for your suite. At most communities, these appointments occur approximately four weeks before your occupancy date.

Interim Closing

The date you get possession of your new home if the condominium has not registered. If interim closing, you will not receive full title to your home and you will not require your mortgage, but you will be paying occupancy fees. This includes projected realty taxes, Maintenance Fees and interest on the unpaid balance of your home.

Key Package

A package you receive upon closing which includes all of the access devices for your community (suite, mailbox and common area keys, parking fobs/transponders etc.), a quick start guide, and other information to help you feel comfortable in your new home. It will be made available to you on your occupancy date from the Concierge, after the lawyers have completed the Closing process (typically in the late afternoon).

Maintenance Fees

Fees that are paid monthly for your share of ownership of the condominium corporation and begin at final closing. Maintenance fees are calculated based on the percentage of ownership attributed to each “Unit” that can be owned within the condominium, which is formally outlined in the Condominium Declaration. While available “Units” will vary between communities, they include residential and retail suites, parking spaces, lockers, hobby rooms, etc.

For each “Unit” you own, you are responsible for the percentage allocated to each as part of the annual operating budget. Generally, the more “Units” you own, and the larger they are, the greater the percentage of the annual budget you will be responsible for.

Mortgage Approval

Your Agreement of Purchase and Sale (APS) requires you to provide us with confirmation of your mortgage approval within 30 days of signing the APS. This approval may be a financial term sheet, a loan agreement or a mortgage commitment, and is required to be firm and unconditional.

Mortgage & Financing

The majority of homeowners require some type(s) of financing to complete their Final Closing. There are many different types of financing available, and it is best to discuss the different options with your financial advisor, realtor and lawyer to help determine which option is most appropriate for your individual circumstances.

Common types of financing include:

Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC). A loan in which the lender agrees to lend a maximum amount within an agreed period or term, where the collateral is the borrower’s equity in his/her house (akin to a second mortgage). HELOC’s have variable rates and have a range of flexible repayment options. They can be advantageous if a purchaser wishes to leverage other property holdings to pay for the new property.

Mortgage. There are a variety of options for conventional mortgages (such as fixed or variable rates, amortization length and term length), however, once entered into the terms of repayment, they are typically fixed and offer less flexibility than those offered with a HELOC. See our Sample Mortgage Checklist for more information.

Bridge Loans. A short-term financing option, to “bridge the gap” between final closing and another method of financing. Bridge financing typically has a higher risk for the lender, and as such has a higher interest rate than other types of financing. An example of when bridge financing is required is when a suite’s final closing occurs shortly before the closing of an existing property.

New Home Closing Package

The package of documents prepared by our lawyers and sent to your lawyer approximately four weeks before your occupancy date. The documents typically include an occupancy agreement, an updated annual budget, GST/HST affidavit, and utility enrollment forms.

Occupancy Date

When you take legal possession of your new home and are able to move in. On your occupancy date you will either Interim Close or Final Close.

Occupancy Fees

If your occupancy date is before the Final Closing, you will be required to pay occupancy fees on a month-to-month basis until final closing. The Condominium Act, prescribe how these fees are to be calculated and are based on the following:

  1. Estimated Monthly Maintenance Fee

  2. Estimated Monthly Realty Taxes

  3. Estimated Monthly Interest Component

Occupancy Fees – Cross Phase Expenses

A common element expense that you are required to pay if you purchased additional product(s), such as a parking spot or locker, that are in a different phase of your community. A Tridel community with multiple towers may be built in phases instead of all at once. For instance, there may be two towers and townhomes that make up the entire Tridel community, with the first tower being Phase 1, the second tower Phase 2, and the townhomes being Phase 3. A purchaser may have bought a home in Phase 1 and purchased an additional parking spot and locker located within Phase 2. A cross phase expense will be applied for any additional products purchased in another phase in a community other than the one in which the suite was purchased.

Outside Occupancy Date

The latest date that an Occupancy Date can be extended to. In the unlikely event that a home was not delivered by this date, you would have the right to terminate or renegotiate the APS. You can find this date on the Tarion Statement of Critical Dates Addendum included with your APS.

Registration

A process by which the Condominium’s Declaration and description are formally approved by the City and a Condominium Corporation number is issued, forming the Condominium Corporation.

Reserve Fund

A fund required to be set aside by the Condominium Corporation to cover the major repair and replacement of the common elements and assets of the condominium.

Standard Unit Definition

Formal explanations of what finishes are included as part of each suite design, and what the legal boundaries for each home are. The Standard Unit Definitions are typically included at Tridel communities as one or more appendices to By-Law #1. This information is used in the event of an insurance claim or to determine maintenance responsibilities.

Stub Period/Stub Payment

The period of time of the partial month of occupancy when you gain legal possession of your suite, and the first full month of occupancy (e.g., if your Occupancy Date is April 18th, the Stub Period would be from April 18th to May 31st). The Stub Payment is the first payment duration of Occupancy Fees that covers the stub period. The Stub Payment is paid by certified cheque at the time of interim closing.

Tarion Warranty Corporation

A provincially regulated not-for-profit organization, established to administer the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act and Regulations, regulating the new home industry in Ontario. Tarion provides consumer protection by setting the minimum warranty and performance standards that new home builders must meet.

Tentative Occupancy Date

A projected target date as to when your suite will be complete, and you can take occupancy. This initial date is established as part of your Agreement of Purchase and Sale and is the most optimistic date of completion. It is expected that multiple Tentative Occupancy Dates will be set as construction progresses based on a number of factors including: the number of sales to allow for the start of construction for the community; the progress of construction during the construction phase; the location of your suite within the community; and more. You will be kept up to date on the progress of construction and as required, will be given a revised occupancy date. Occupancy Dates will remain Tentative, until a Final Tentative Occupancy Date is issued.

Title Insurance

An optional, albeit very common insurance policy for new home buyers offered through lawyers and real estate professionals that protects you and your lender(s) against losses relating to a home’s title. These concerns may include encroachment agreements, liens and errors in public records. It is best to discuss Title Insurance with your lawyer so that you can understand what protections it may offer you and what other options may be appropriate.

The Financial Services Commission of Ontario has produced a comprehensive brochure called Understanding Title Insurance that may help to answer more questions.

Title (Taking Title)

A legal term that means you have legal ownership of the property and is obtained when the owner signs the deed (transfer document) over to you. Title is then registered in the government’s land registration system.

The manner in which Title is taken in Ontario falls into two categories: Joint Tenancy, or Tenants in Common. In its simplest terms, Joint Tenancy permits that if two or more people are purchasing a property, that in the event of a death of one of the people, the entire property will become solely owned by the other purchaser. For Tenants in Common, each purchaser retains a percentage of ownership, that in the event of a death, the percentage of ownership will transfer to the person’s estate, rather than to the other owner.

At Final Closing, Title will be transferred into the name of the purchaser(s) on the Agreement of Purchase and Sale, unless our lawyers receive direction otherwise prior to final closing. You should provide instructions to your lawyer about how you wish to take Title, at least three to four weeks before final closing to avoid additional legal expenses.

Warranty

Your warranty protection against defects in workmanship and materials is divided into two areas, your in-suite warranty and the Common Element Warranty. The in-suite warranty beings on your Occupancy Date. The Common Element warranty begins on the Registration date of the community. Additionally, the warranty coverage is separated into three categories with different durations:

  • 1 Year – All workmanship, Building Code violations, unauthorized substitutions

  • 2 Year – Water penetration, electrical, plumbing and heating delivery and distribution systems, violations of the Building Code affecting health and safety

  • 7 Years – Major Structural Defects

Always Here for You

We will always be here to help you along your new home journey with us. If you have any questions during the various phases of your journey, contact C3 – Tridel's Customer Connection Centre.

Email: ask@tridel.com | Phone: 416.661.9394