The Basics of Condo Maintenance Fees

If you are planning to live in a condo, you should become familiar with your maintenance fee. Maintenance fees or common area fees are mandatory monthly payments shared by unit owners to cover the operating costs and maintaining a reserve fund.

The monthly fees cover these four main categories:

1. Common area maintenance: garbage pick up, landscaping, snow removal, and care to common areas like elevators, lobby, and hallways.

2. Amenities: can vary a lot based on the condo. More amenities translates to higher maintenance for things such as pools, saunas, rooftop patios with BBQs, gym, movie/billiards.

3. Utilities: depending on the condo property management fees may or not include hydro, water, internet, and cable.

4. Reserve Fund: sum of money set aside for unexpected repairs. These unexpected repairs are usually large in scale such as new windows, new boiler, or parking garage repairs.

Maintenance fees do not include: property taxes, personal insurance, repairs in your unit or special assessments.

Condo fees are typically calculated based on the size of the owner’s condo unit. It varies from condo to condo and from unit to unit. The fees typically also go up year by year. In Toronto, the range is falls between $0.60 to $1.20 per square foot each month. The Eli Reports have gathered the average monthly fees across Canada. The 2025 averages are as follows:

How much are your maintenance fees? Do you think they are fair? Leave a review for your condo and let others know.