Question 1

What duty of care does a director owe a condominium corporation in Alberta?

Accepted Answer

Section 28(2) of the Condominium Property Act says every board member, in exercising the powers and performing the duties of the office, must act honestly and in good faith with a view to the best interests of the corporation. The member must also use the care, diligence and skill that a reasonably prudent person would use in comparable circumstances.

Section 28(2) does not define 'reasonably prudent' or say which steps meet the standard. Separately, section 67(4) says that if a damages action against a board member over an act or omission on the corporation's behalf does not result in a judgment against the member, the Court may award the member costs on a solicitor-and-client basis. It says nothing about an action that does result in a judgment against the member.

Question 2

What is an Alberta condominium board responsible for?

Accepted Answer

Section 28.2(1) of the Condominium Property Act says the powers and duties of the corporation are exercised and performed by the board, subject to any restriction imposed or direction given in an ordinary resolution. Under section 37(1), the corporation is responsible for enforcing its bylaws and for the control, management and administration of its real and personal property, the common property and managed property.

Section 37(2)(a) lists keeping that property in a state of good and serviceable repair, and properly maintaining it, among the corporation's duties. Service Alberta's March 2026 'Owning a Condominium' publication, a plain-language summary rather than the statute, lists hiring and supervising employees and contractors, including a condominium manager or management company, among the board's responsibilities.

Question 3

Can a director's company bid on work for an Alberta condominium corporation?

Accepted Answer

Section 28(3) of the Condominium Property Act does not say a corporation may not contract with a director's company. It says a director with a material interest in an agreement, arrangement or transaction to which the corporation is or is to become a party must declare the interest to the board and must not vote on any matter about it.

The director is also not counted for quorum when a vote or other action is taken on it. Section 28(3) does not define 'material interest', so whether a director's link to a company counts is for the corporation's lawyer to say. Section 28(4) says the rule does not apply where the interest exists only because the member owns a unit.

Question 4

Are an Alberta condo board's decisions still valid if a director's election turns out to be defective?

Accepted Answer

Yes, if the acts were done in good faith. Section 28(9) of the Condominium Property Act says all acts done in good faith by a board are as valid as if the member concerned had been properly elected or appointed or had properly continued in office. This applies even if a defect in the election, appointment or continuance in office is discovered afterwards.

The protection is for acts done in good faith and for defects in a member's election, appointment or continuance in office. Section 28(9) does not say that it validates an act outside the board's authority, or an act that breaches the Act or the bylaws for some other reason. Section 28(2) separately sets the standard of conduct for board members.

Question 5

Who can sit on an Alberta condominium board, and when does a member have to leave it?

Accepted Answer

Section 28(1.1) of the Condominium Property Act says at least 2/3 of a board's members must be unit owners or mortgagees, unless the bylaws provide otherwise. Section 28(1) says the board is constituted as the corporation's bylaws provide.

Section 28.1(1) lists the cases in which a person ceases to be a member of the board. These include becoming a bankrupt, being more than 60 days in arrears in any contribution required as an owner, and being more than 60 days in default of a court judgment for money owing to the corporation. The section lists other grounds too.

Question 6

How long is a director's term, and who is eligible to be elected to an Alberta condo board?

Accepted Answer

Where the default bylaws in Schedule 4 to the Condominium Property Regulation apply, section 8(1) says, subject to subsection (2), that a board member is elected at an annual general meeting. The term expires at the conclusion of the annual general meeting convened in the 2nd year following the year of election.

Among other rules, section 6 of the same bylaws says an individual does not need to be an owner to be elected, but an owner who has not paid the contributions or levies due and owing for the unit is not eligible. Section 28(1.1) of the Act separately says at least 2/3 of the board's members must be unit owners or mortgagees unless the bylaws provide otherwise; how that fits with section 6 is for the corporation's lawyer. Service Alberta says a corporation with its own registered bylaws does not use the default bylaws.

Question 7

Do new Alberta condominium board members have to take training or acknowledge a code of conduct?

Accepted Answer

Section 28.3 of the Condominium Property Act, as consolidated to May 14, 2026, says the Act's Director may establish education requirements for members of boards. Members of boards must comply with any requirements established, and each board is responsible for ensuring its members comply. The section sets no requirement itself and does not say what a board member must complete or by when.

Separately, where the default bylaws in Schedule 4 to the Condominium Property Regulation apply, section 35(2) and (3) say each board member elected after January 1, 2020 shall be provided with the code of conduct forthwith. That member must acknowledge in writing being aware of it and agreeing to comply while acting as a board member, return the acknowledgment to the corporation, and may not vote at meetings until doing so. Service Alberta says a corporation with its own registered bylaws does not use the default bylaws.

Question 8

Who can sign contracts and cheques for an Alberta condominium corporation?

Accepted Answer

Where the default bylaws in Schedule 4 to the Condominium Property Regulation apply, their section 15 says the board must prescribe, by resolution, which officers or other individuals may sign cheques, drafts, instruments and other documents not required to be signed under the corporate seal. It must also prescribe the manner, if any, in which they are signed. Service Alberta says a corporation with its own registered bylaws does not use the default bylaws.

Section 14 says the seal may be used only under a prior board resolution and in the presence of at least 2 board members who sign the document. A board of not more than 3 members may authorize one member to use the seal and sign. Section 28.2(1) of the Act says the board exercises the corporation's powers and duties, subject to any restriction or direction in an ordinary resolution; it does not say who signs.

Question 9

Can an Alberta condominium board hire employees or agents for the corporation?

Accepted Answer

Yes, according to Service Alberta: its March 2026 'Owning a Condominium' publication lists hiring and supervising employees and contractors, including a condominium manager or management company, among the board's responsibilities. It is a plain-language summary rather than the statute.

Where the default bylaws in Schedule 4 to the Condominium Property Regulation apply, section 16(2) lets the board employ agents and employees on behalf of the corporation. It may employ any it thinks necessary to control, manage and administer the corporation's real and personal property and the common property. The board may authorize them to exercise the corporation's powers and carry out its duties in that respect. Service Alberta says a corporation with its own registered bylaws does not use the default bylaws.

Question 10

Can an Alberta condominium board delegate its work to a manager?

Accepted Answer

Section 25(4) of the Condominium Property Act says nothing in the Act prohibits a corporation from acting by means of agents or its employees. Where the default bylaws apply, section 16(3) of those bylaws also says the board may delegate any or all of its powers and duties to other persons, subject to any restriction or direction from a general meeting.

Service Alberta says a corporation with its own registered bylaws does not use the default bylaws. Service Alberta's March 30, 2026 fact sheet says the board has a responsibility to ensure its manager follows the legislation, bylaws and contract terms. It also says licensing by the Real Estate Council of Alberta is not intended to remove responsibilities from the elected board. Section 28.2(1) of the Act says the board exercises and performs the corporation's powers and duties, subject to any restriction or direction in an ordinary resolution.

Question 11

Does a condominium manager in Alberta need a licence?

Accepted Answer

Yes, with exceptions: Alberta.ca says that, effective December 1, 2021, all individuals and companies that provide condominium management services in Alberta must be licensed by the Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA). RECA says it began regulating condominium managers on that date.

RECA says these services involve exercising a corporation's powers or performing its duties on its behalf. It says they commonly include collecting, holding or disbursing funds levied by the corporation, enforcing its bylaws or rules, negotiating and entering into contracts on its behalf, and supervising employees or contractors. Service Alberta's March 30, 2026 fact sheet says the licensing is not intended to remove responsibilities from the elected board, and that the licensing requirement does not apply to condominium boards, self-managed condominiums and employees of condominiums.

Question 12

Does a self-managed condominium or a corporation's own employee need a manager's licence in Alberta?

Accepted Answer

Service Alberta says no. Its March 30, 2026 fact sheet says the licensing requirement does not apply to condominium boards, self-managed condominiums and employees of condominiums.

Section 2(6) of the Real Estate Act, as consolidated to November 16, 2022, says that, as it relates to engaging in a condominium management service, the Act does not apply to a condominium corporation in respect of the corporation managing its own affairs. RECA says that, as of December 1, 2021, the exemptions include self-managing corporations and bona fide employees of condominium corporations acting on behalf of their employer. The sources read for this page contain no statute or regulation wording that exempts employees, and none of these passages says who counts as an employee.

Question 13

What must an Alberta condo corporation file at the land titles office after its annual general meeting?

Accepted Answer

Section 28(5) of the Condominium Property Act, as consolidated to May 14, 2026, says the corporation must, within 30 days from the conclusion of its annual general meeting, file a notice at the land titles office. The notice, in the prescribed form, must state the names and addresses of the members of the board.

Section 28(6) says a corporation must promptly file at the land titles office a notice in the prescribed form stating any change in the membership of the board, the name of a member or the address for service of a member. The two subsections do not say what follows if a notice is not filed.

Question 14

What documents can an owner ask an Alberta condo corporation for, and how quickly must it respond?

Accepted Answer

Within 10 days after receiving a written request, says section 44(1) of the Condominium Property Act, the corporation must give an owner the prescribed information or documents asked for. Subject to subsection (2), section 20.52(1) of the Regulation lists them, including approved board minutes for a particular fiscal year, professional reports such as engineers' reports, insurance certificates and policies, and reserve fund plans and reports.

Professional reports subject to legal privilege are excluded. This answer does not set out subsection (2), which qualifies the list. If the board does not provide requested documents, Service Alberta says an application may be made to the Condominium Dispute Resolution Tribunal.

Question 15

Can an owner copy the documents the corporation provides on request and give the copies to others?

Accepted Answer

Section 20.52(3) of the Condominium Property Regulation says an owner is not precluded from making copies of any information or documents provided under section 44 of the Condominium Property Act and providing copies of them to other persons.

Section 44(1) of the Act requires the corporation to provide the prescribed information or documents within 10 days after receiving a written request from an owner, purchaser or mortgagee, or from their solicitor or a person they authorize in writing. Section 20.52(3) covers what is provided that way.

Question 16

What can an Alberta condominium corporation charge an owner for documents?

Accepted Answer

Section 20.53(1) of the Condominium Property Regulation limits what a corporation, or a person providing documents for it, may charge in the ordinary course. The cap is $200 for an estoppel certificate and $100 for an information statement with all the information in section 20.52(1)(a). For other documents it is $0.25 per page for a hard copy over 40 pages, and $10 for any other format or a document of 40 pages or fewer.

Those caps are subject to subsections (2) and (3); this answer does not set out subsection (3). A corporation that produces an estoppel certificate or a document listed in section 20.52(1) within 3 days of the request, excluding a holiday, may charge up to $100 more for the certificate, $50 more for an information statement and $20 more for any other document. Subsection (2) makes these extra fees subject to the bylaws.

Question 17

How long must an Alberta condominium corporation keep minutes, engineering reports and reserve fund plans?

Accepted Answer

It depends on the record. Schedule 3 to the Condominium Property Regulation sets a minimum period for each record it lists. It is permanent for professional reports such as engineering reports, 12 years after creation for the reserve fund report, plan and updates, and 7 years after creation for approved minutes of a general meeting or of the board.

Section 20.55(1) says a corporation must keep the Schedule 3 records for that period or the period in its bylaws, whichever is longer.

Question 18

Does an Alberta condominium corporation need a privacy officer?

Accepted Answer

Alberta.ca says condominium corporations must designate an individual who is responsible for ensuring the corporation complies with the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA). It says this person is often referred to as a Privacy Officer.

The same page says corporations must develop and follow policies and practices to meet their obligations under PIPA. This is Alberta.ca's guidance on PIPA rather than the Act's text, so ask the corporation's lawyer how PIPA applies to the corporation.

Board duties, records and managers: conflicts, owner documents, signing and licensing

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