Special levies for Alberta condo boards: approval, notice, shares, payment and borrowing

In the Condominium Property Act the term is special levy, which Alberta.ca describes as a one-time or temporary assessment imposed on owners to raise money for an unbudgeted expense or shortfall. This library uses special levy and special assessment for the same charge.

Alberta.ca's examples include major repairs, an unexpected insurance deductible, emergency remediation and insufficient reserve funds. Section 39.1 of the Act sets out what the board's resolution and its notice to owners must contain.

Next step. See special assessments for how a board can prepare the numbers before owners are asked to pay.

Sources: Special levies, Condominium Property Act

According to Alberta.ca, regular monthly contributions are what owners usually pay for ongoing expenses, such as insurance, utilities, management fees, maintenance and reserve fund contributions, whereas a special levy is a one-time or temporary assessment to raise money for an unbudgeted expense or shortfall. The March 2026 tip sheet from Service Alberta says contributions are normally set annually and paid monthly.

Section 39(1) of the Condominium Property Act lists both among the amounts a board may, by resolution, determine to be levied as contributions. Paragraph (a) covers amounts levied on owners at regular intervals for the operating account and the reserve fund, and paragraph (c) covers a special levy under section 39.1.

Sources: Special levies, Owning a Condominium, Condominium Property Act

Alberta.ca lists five purposes, starting with unexpected and urgent maintenance, repair or replacement of the real and personal property of the corporation, common property or managed property. The others are covering unexpected shortfalls in the operating account, increasing the reserve fund balance to meet requirements in a reserve fund plan in accordance with the regulations, paying for a capital improvement approved by special resolution, and satisfying a judgment against the corporation.

Section 39.1(2) of the Condominium Property Act ends its list with "any other purpose provided for in the regulations", which the page does not mention, so the page's five are not the whole of the Act's list. The page does not say what counts as urgent or unexpected.

Next step. State the purpose plainly in the resolution, because the notice to owners must give it too, and ask the corporation's lawyer about any purpose that is not on Alberta.ca's list.

Sources: Special levies, Condominium Property Act

Yes, unless the levy is for a capital improvement: Alberta.ca says boards can approve special levies through a board resolution and do not need owners' approval by a vote at a general meeting. For a capital improvement, section 39.1(3) of the Condominium Property Act requires a special resolution before the board may approve the levy.

Alberta.ca adds that the legislation does not require the board to convene a meeting of owners to inform them about the levy, although an information meeting can be helpful. If the cost is for a specific purpose, it may make sense to have an engineer, contractor or accountant attend.

Next step. If the work may be a capital improvement, settle the approval route with the corporation's lawyer before the board votes.

Sources: Special levies, Condominium Property Act

It depends on the project: section 39.1(3) of the Condominium Property Act requires a special resolution when a levy is for a capital improvement, and section 38(4) says some replacements are not capital improvements. Section 38(4) names replacing existing property of the corporation, the common property or managed property with the contemporary equivalent of an obsolete property, or with a lower cost equivalent of the existing property, and any other replacement the regulations prescribe.

Whether a particular stucco, window or roof project fits that wording is a question for the corporation's lawyer. Section 38(4) applies for the purposes of sections 38 and 39.1, and the Act does not define a capital improvement. Alberta.ca describes capital improvements as additions or alterations that may increase the property's value, while reserve fund expenses are generally for repairing or replacing existing property.

Next step. Take the engineer's scope and the options the board is weighing to the corporation's lawyer before choosing the approval route.

Sources: Condominium Property Act, Reserve funds

Not for the purposes of Part 2 of the Regulation and section 38 of the Act, according to section 28 of the Condominium Property Regulation as consolidated to 15 February 2026. It says that when a corporation repairs or replaces depreciating property, the work is not to be construed as a capital improvement if it was a matter included in the current reserve fund report that was prepared and submitted to the corporation.

Section 28 does not mention section 39.1, the special levy section, although section 38(4) of the Act names both sections 38 and 39.1. Whether section 28 settles the vote needed for a levy is for the corporation's lawyer. Alberta.ca says associated changes to the Regulation came into force on 26 February 2026.

Next step. Check whether the work is in the corporation's current reserve fund report, and give the corporation's lawyer that answer and the current text of section 28; the reserve fund questions cover the fund's own rules.

Sources: Condominium Property Regulation, Condominium Property Act, Supporting Alberta's condominium communities

Under section 1(1)(x) of the Condominium Property Act, a special resolution passed at a properly convened meeting needs at least 75% of all the persons entitled to vote, who must also represent at least 75% of the total unit factors for all the units. For a capital-improvement levy, section 39.1(3) requires it before the board may approve the levy.

Section 26(6) lets a special resolution be agreed to in writing instead of at a meeting, as described in section 1(1)(x).

Next step. Draft the proposed wording of the resolution early, because the notice of a special general meeting must include it, and see meetings and voting for passing a resolution in writing.

Sources: Condominium Property Act

In an owner vote each owner has one vote, while in a unit factor vote the votes are weighted by the unit factors of the owner's unit or units. Section 26 of the Condominium Property Act (consolidation current to 14 May 2026) requires a general meeting to use one or the other, subject to subsections (1.2) to (1.4), and lets the bylaws provide another basis in place of an owner vote.

Next step. Check your registered bylaws for any voting basis other than one vote per owner, and see meetings and voting for how each vote works at a meeting.

Sources: Condominium Property Act

Not if a contribution for the owner's unit has been in arrears for more than 30 days before the day the power of voting may be exercised. Section 26(5) of the Condominium Property Act says that in that case neither the owner nor a mortgagee is entitled to exercise the power of voting that the Act or the regulations give the owner.

The same rule covers any other obligation owing to the corporation for the unit or the common property. Section 39(1)(c) lists a special levy among the amounts levied as contributions, so ask the corporation's lawyer to confirm that arrears on a levy are caught by it. Section 1(1)(x) requires not less than 75% of all the persons entitled to exercise the powers of voting conferred by the Act or the bylaws, so how owners barred by section 26(5) are counted is also a question for the lawyer.

Next step. Before the meeting, check which owners are more than 30 days in arrears and what the registered bylaws say about voting, and see meetings and voting for the other limits.

Sources: Condominium Property Act

Section 30.1 of the Condominium Property Act lets the board call a special general meeting on written notice to each owner at least 14 days before the meeting, subject to the regulations. The notice has to state the purpose of the meeting, including the proposed wording of any resolution.

The same 14-day minimum, also subject to the regulations, applies to an annual general meeting (section 30(3)). Section 71.1(2) separately says service is deemed to have been effected 7 days after the document is sent by ordinary mail, 24 hours after it is sent by electronic means, or on the date the acknowledgment of receipt of recorded mail is signed. Whether those dates affect the 14 days, or how the days are counted, is a question for the corporation's lawyer.

Next step. Ask the corporation's lawyer how to count the 14 days, and keep a record of how and when each owner was sent the notice.

Sources: Condominium Property Act

Service Alberta's March 2026 tip sheet, in its guidance on funding repairs and replacement, suggests a board could discuss alternatives with the owners at a general meeting before making the final decision. It adds that good community relations suggest owners should not be surprised by the board's final decision. Both are worded as suggestions, not requirements.

Section 28(2) of the Condominium Property Act separately requires each board member to act honestly and in good faith in the corporation's best interests, and to exercise the care, diligence and skill of a reasonably prudent person in comparable circumstances. The Act does not say which steps meet that standard.

Next step. See board duties for more on directors' duties and conflicts of interest, and keep the reports the board relied on with the resolution.

Sources: Owning a Condominium, Condominium Property Act

Section 39.1(4) of the Condominium Property Act requires the board to inform each owner as soon as possible after it passes the levy resolution. The notice must give the purpose of the levy and the total amount. It must also give the method used to determine each unit's share, the amount of the owner's unit's share, and the payment date or instalment dates.

Section 39.1(4) gives no other timing and does not itself say how the notice is delivered. Section 71.1(1) deals with how a corporation may serve a document, including any written notice, on an owner, and section 71.1(2) says when service is deemed to have been effected. Whether section 71.1 applies to a levy notice is for the corporation's lawyer.

Next step. Check the draft notice against the list in section 39.1(4), keep a record of how and when each owner was sent it, and see meetings and voting for how service works.

Sources: Condominium Property Act

By unit factor or, if the bylaws provide for it and subject to the regulations, on another basis. Section 39.1(1)(c) of the Condominium Property Act requires the board's resolution to set out the method of determining each unit's share: by unit factor or, subject to the regulations and if the bylaws provide for it, on a basis other than the unit factors.

Section 39(1) gives regular contributions the same two bases: in proportion to the unit factors of the owners' units or, subject to the regulations and if the bylaws provide for it, on a basis other than the unit factors. The Act does not say which regulations apply to another basis, so ask the corporation's lawyer if your bylaws use one.

Next step. Check the corporation's registered bylaws for any basis other than unit factors, and see meetings and voting for what a unit factor is, before the board drafts the resolution.

Sources: Condominium Property Act

Yes, if the board's resolution provides for it. The resolution's payment date or instalment dates set how long owners have to pay, and Alberta.ca says the board may offer owners payment options, with instalments as its example.

Section 39.1(1)(d) of the Condominium Property Act requires the resolution to set out the payment date or, if the levy is payable in instalments, the instalment dates. A special levy is one of the amounts a board may levy as contributions (section 39(1)(c)), and section 39.2(1) says a contribution is due and payable on the passing of a board resolution under section 39, in accordance with the resolution's terms. Section 39.1 sets no minimum payment period and no minimum or maximum amount, and Alberta.ca gives no limit on the number or length of instalments.

Next step. State each payment date in the resolution so the notice to owners can give it exactly, and see unpaid levies for what follows if an owner does not pay.

Sources: Special levies, Condominium Property Act

Alberta.ca says a reduction, a cancellation or any other change to a special levy must be made by a new board resolution that is communicated to owners.

Section 39.1(3) of the Condominium Property Act requires a special resolution before the board may approve a levy for a capital improvement. Alberta.ca does not say whether changing such a levy needs a fresh owner vote, or how much notice owners must get of a change.

Next step. Ask the corporation's lawyer how to word the new resolution and whether owners must vote again before the board changes a capital-improvement levy.

Sources: Special levies, Condominium Property Act

The surplus must be paid into the reserve fund. Section 39.1(5) of the Condominium Property Act says that if the amount collected exceeds the amount required, or for any other reason is not fully used for the purpose set out in the board's resolution, the corporation must pay the money into the reserve fund.

Alberta.ca says the board must pay the surplus money into the reserve fund; the Act puts the duty on the corporation. Neither source mentions refunding owners or crediting the surplus against a later contribution, and neither says when the money must be paid in.

Next step. Ask the corporation's lawyer before the board tells owners they will get a refund or a credit for any money left over.

Sources: Condominium Property Act, Special levies

Alberta.ca says an owner who disagrees with a special levy may raise the issue with the board. It does not say an owner may refuse to pay while disputing the levy, and section 39.2(1) of the Condominium Property Act makes a contribution due and payable on the passing of a board resolution under section 39, in accordance with its terms.

Service Alberta's March 2026 fact sheet says the Act allows owners to pass an ordinary resolution that sets restrictions or gives direction to the board, and that boards must follow any lawful restriction or direction. A direction contrary to the Act, the regulations or the bylaws is not valid (section 28.2(2)). The fact sheet does not say a levy already approved can be undone this way.

Next step. Ask the corporation's lawyer whether an owners' resolution could affect a levy, and see bylaws and disputes for other options.

Sources: Special levies, Condominium Property Act, Resolving condominium disputes

Yes, where the work is a major repair or replacement that does not normally occur annually: section 38(1) of the Condominium Property Act requires the corporation to keep a reserve fund reasonably sufficient to provide for it. Alberta.ca adds that the fund is not to be used for ongoing maintenance, such as yard work or window cleaning.

A capital improvement is a separate case: section 38(2) of the Act says funds shall not be taken from a reserve fund for one unless its conditions are met.

Next step. Ask the corporation's lawyer whether the project is a capital improvement, and see reserve fund and budgets for the conditions and what the fund may pay for.

Sources: Condominium Property Act, Reserve funds

Yes: section 37(4) of the Condominium Property Act says a corporation may, subject to the regulations, borrow money for the purpose of carrying out its powers and duties under section 37. Section 37(5) says money borrowed must be used only for the purpose for which it was borrowed.

Section 37(1) makes the corporation responsible for the control, management and administration of its real and personal property, the common property and managed property, and section 37(2)(a) makes it a duty to keep that property in a state of good and serviceable repair. Section 37(5) limits what loan proceeds are used for but does not say how a loan is repaid, so ask the corporation's lawyer how repayment would be funded.

Next step. Read the corporation's registered bylaws for any borrowing rules before the board approaches a lender.

Sources: Condominium Property Act, Condominium Property Regulation

Section 31.7(2) of the Condominium Property Regulation as consolidated to 15 February 2026 says that, subject to subsection (5), borrowing must be authorized by a resolution when the new loan plus all outstanding loans during that fiscal year is more than a set limit. The resolution is an ordinary resolution, unless a bylaw requires a special resolution for approving borrowing (section 31.7(1)).

The limit is the greater of two amounts. One is 15% of the corporation's revenues in the most recent financial statements, or an amount set out in the bylaws. The other is the maximum borrowing for that fiscal year adopted by a previous resolution, which must state it as a percentage of revenues or a dollar amount (section 31.7(3)). The revenues come from the financial statements, not the annual budget. Alberta.ca says associated changes to the Regulation came into force on 26 February 2026.

Next step. Read the corporation's registered bylaws for a borrowing amount or a special-resolution requirement, and check section 31.7 in the Regulation's current text, before the board approaches a lender.

Sources: Condominium Property Regulation, Supporting Alberta's condominium communities