Constitution and content of the register

The syndicate of co-owners is obliged to maintain a register of the co-ownership accessible to all the co-owners and so, in accordance with section 342 of the Civil Code of Québec. The board of directors is responsible for properly keeping the syndicate's books and register; the board may delegate this task to a third party member such as the condo manager who may issue copies of the documents in his possession. Until proven otherwise, any copy is considered proof of its content without the need to verify the signature or the authority of the person who issued it.

Thus, the board of directors maintains the list of members as well as the necessary register and books for the proper functioning of the legal entity. A well-kept register is crucial for the archiving and management of a co-ownership (condominium) making it in the best interest for every syndicate to maintain one.

Content of the register

The documents constituting the register of the co-ownership are listed in section 1070 of the Civil Code of Québec; the list hereunder is non exhaustive:

• the name and mailing address of each co-owner;
• the minutes of the meetings of the co-owners;
• the minutes of the meetings of the board of directors;
• the resolutions in writing of the board of directors and those of the meeting of co-owners;
• the by-laws of the immovable and any amendments;
• the financial statements of the co-ownership;
• a copy of the declaration of co-ownership;
• the copies of the contracts in which the syndicate is a party;
• a copy of the cadastral plan;
• the plans and specifications of the built immovable;
• the location certificates for the immovable;
• the maintenance logbook with the reports regarding the maintenance-repair plans of the immovable and the preventive-maintenance plans;
• the contingency fund study;
• any other document and information related to the immovable and the syndicate or prescribed by government regulation;
• a description of the private portions that is sufficiently precise to allow any improvements made by the co-owners to be identified; this description is commonly known as the reference unit.

Although they are not expressly mentioned in section 1070 C.c.Q., the register must also contain the following documents:

• all amendments to the declaration of co-ownership;
• the name and address of each lessee (tenant);
• the certificate of the state of the immovable;
• the asset management plan;
• the insurance policy;
• the appraisal (assessment) report determining the reconstruction (value) cost of the immovable;
• the expertise reports;
• the cost estimates for refurnishing of the common portions;
• the call for tender documents and bids received from various contractors;
• a copy of the declaration of registration filed at the Quebec enterprise Register (Registre des entreprises du Québec) (REQ) and each declaration regarding an annual update, a current update or a correction;
• the legal proceedings to which the syndicate is a party;
• the acts of allocation of the common portions for restricted use and any amendment thereto;
• the allocation plan of the common portions for restricted use;
• the act of transfer of the voting rights of a co-owner in favor of his hypothecary creditor;
• the income tax return;
• the attendance sheet of the meetings of co-owners.

Updating

Since the register contains the identity of the co-owners, it is a document of reference for the exercise of voting rights and regarding the right to be represented at the meeting of the co-owners; if in a co-ownership a person exercises his voting rights without having such rights, it will lead to an error in the calculation of votes and without a doubt to a possible legal challenge (contestation) of decisions taken and this is why it is extremely important in keeping the register up to date.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW!​ In the event of discrepancies between the information contained in the syndicate's register and the information contained in the Quebec Land Register, the latter takes precedence.

WHAT TO KEEP IN MIND: The board of directors can set up an Extranet for co-ownerships; this consists of a dematerialized provision in a secure site of the documents held in the register of the co-ownership.

WARNING! The register of co-ownership may contain personal information concerning a co-owner, a lessee (tenant) or an other occupant of the immovable. The Civil Code of Québec and the Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector govern the processing of information collected by the syndicate on any person and so, regarding co-owners or third party members; he can't communicate this information or misuse it if he has not obtained the consent of the concerned person or if he is not legally authorized to do so. 

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