Divided co-ownership

In 2019 there were about 329,000 divided co-ownership properties in Québec, representing 12% of all housing.

A divided co-ownership property is an immovable that is divided into fractions. Each owner owns a “private” portion for his own use and, like all other co-owners, an undivided share of the common portions. Often, the owner will have rights of exclusive use over certain common portions. Immovables held in divided co-ownership can be residential, commercial or both, in which case they are called “mixed-use.”

• Each co-owner receives his own tax account.
• Each private portion has its own lot number, and the common portions have one or more different lot numbers.

The rules for community living and administration of the co-ownership property are defined in a declaration of co-ownership. This is a contract that is binding on all co-owners, their successors (e.g., buyers) and its signatories from the time of its publication in the Land register.

Anyone who does not abide by the declaration of co-ownership is liable, among other things, to a legal recourse under article 1080 of the Civil Code of Québec. This recourse may be instituted by a co-owner or by the syndicate. Generally, a notice of violation will be sent to the co-owner at fault.

Types of residential divided co-ownership properties

The two main types of divided co-ownership properties are:

• Residential towers, also known as vertical condos, are multi-storey, multi-unit residential buildings found particularly in phased development projects;
• Row houses, also known as horizontal condos, are a collection of more than two semi-detached houses, each separated by a common wall.

Real estate projects of individual homes are sometimes formed into a divided co-ownership when certain common elements are shared, such as a street, a pool, etc.

Regardless of type, all co-ownership properties include private portions, common portions and, sometimes, common portions for restricted use. Each co-owner owns a fraction of the immovable that includes these elements.*

It should be noted that what constitutes a private portion in one co-ownership property could be a common portion or a common portion for restricted use in another property. Examples of this include parking spaces, storage spaces and balconies.

*For more information, see the section entitled “Co-ownership fraction”