canada property ownership real-property common-property
The big-boys want to use our condo-fee to repair their private portion
<p>I live in a small condominium with eight units. Two units have their private balconies with private entrance. They want to have a major repair done for their private portion. The expected cost is about 20K and they added this cost to the condo-fee which is to be shared among the units.</p>
<p>This means that my yearly condo fee effectively raised from $1.2k to about $2k. However, from my understanding, the repair cost of any private portions cannot be shared. I explained the law to the owners but they are not supporting me. One of the big-boys explicitly says that: &quot;I do understand the law but I want to have my balcony repaired with your money anyway&quot;</p>
<p>Do I have to sue them to fix this issue? A lengthy law-suit is too costly for me. If I refuse to pay $2k and only pay 1.2k, will I be facing any legal troubles?</p>

<p>You did not specify a country or the specific contracts that might rule your condominium. At least in some jurisdictions indeed the repair cost of private portions cannot be shared. Moreover, you may not be required to pay some costs for common portions if you refuse to do so and <em>won't</em> make use of them.</p>
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<p>Do I have to sue them to fix this issue? A lengthy law-suit is too costly for me. If I refuse to pay $2k and only pay 1.2k, will I be facing any legal troubles?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>You will probably manage to continue paying just 1.2k, and have them have to sue you if they want to collect that supposedly owned money from you. However, there might be some requirements about providing notification of your refusal in a certain way or before some time elapses. I would recommend you to consult a local lawyer, it will be well-spent money. Plus, that refusal is actually sent by your lawyer (rather than just telling you how/what to say), should make your &quot;law-understanding neighbor&quot; think twice about going forward with their attempt of having you pay for it.</p>
