The Quick Answer
An estoppel certificate states what an owner owes the condo corporation in contributions, how often that amount is paid, any arrears, and any interest. An information statement is a different document. It covers lawsuits served on the corporation, the reserve fund, known structural deficiencies, loans, and related corporation facts. Have your lawyer review both.
John Carle, St. Albert REALTOR® with Homes & Gardens Real Estate Limited
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Key Takeaways at a Glance
- The estoppel certificate covers the contribution payable for the owner's units, how often it is paid, any arrears, any interest, and a proposed chargeback when notice of that chargeback has been served.
- The information statement covers the corporation. That includes served lawsuits, unsatisfied judgments and orders, written demands over $5,000, the reserve fund amount, contributions and how they were set, known structural deficiencies, current loans, other survey plans, and unit factors.
- A special levy, the bylaws, the budget, the financial statements, and the reserve fund report are separate documents.
- The Act gives the corporation 10 days after it receives a written request. The Regulation sets maximum fees.
- Your real estate lawyer should review the documents before you remove conditions.
"John Carle says:" — Estoppel Certificate vs Information Statement in Alberta
"I can help you ask for both documents while the offer is still conditional. Your lawyer is the one who reviews them."
— John Carle, REALTOR® with Homes & Gardens Real Estate Limited, selling homes in St. Albert since 1999
When you buy a condo in Alberta, you buy a unit and a share of a condominium corporation. Two documents in that file answer different questions, and they get mixed up.
The estoppel certificate is about the money tied to the owner's units. The information statement is about the corporation. I ask for both while an offer is still conditional, and I ask your real estate lawyer to review them before conditions come off.
The description below follows the office consolidation of the Condominium Property Act, current to May 14, 2026, and the Condominium Property Regulation, current to February 15, 2026. It is general information. It is not legal advice for a particular purchase.
What an estoppel certificate certifies
Section 43.2 of the Act is the estoppel certificate. On a written request, the corporation must provide a certificate for all units that owner owns. The certificate certifies:
- the amount of any contribution payable by the owner
- how often contributions are payable
- the amount of contributions in arrears, if any
- the amount of interest owing, if any, on an unpaid contribution
- any other information the regulations require
Owners usually call regular contributions condo fees. The certificate states the amount and how often it is paid. Frequency is its own line, so the document itself shows whether the contribution is monthly or on another schedule.
Section 43.2(2) says the certificate is conclusive proof of the matters it certifies, for the person who requested it, for those units, as of the date on the certificate. Your lawyer is the person who explains what that means for your purchase.
The regulations add one item, through section 43.2(1)(e). Section 73.93 of the Regulation says the certificate must include information on a proposed chargeback under section 39.01 of the Act, when the board has served the owner with the notice in section 73.91. A chargeback lets the corporation recover certain repair costs from an owner. It is a unit-level amount. The reserve fund and a special levy are covered in the sections below.
What the information statement includes
Section 44 of the Act is the request for prescribed information and documents. Section 20.52(1)(a) of the Regulation says an information statement includes all of the following:
- particulars of any action started against the corporation and served on it, including the amount claimed against the corporation
- any unsatisfied judgment or order for which the corporation is liable
- any written demand made on the corporation for more than $5,000 that, if not met, may result in an action against the corporation
- the amount of the capital replacement reserve fund, which people usually call the reserve fund
- the amount of the contributions, and the basis on which that amount was determined
- any structural deficiencies the corporation knows about, at the time of the request, in the buildings on the condominium plan
- loan disclosure statements for the corporation's current loans, including the starting balance, current balance, interest rate, monthly payment, purpose of the loan, amortization period, and default information if it applies
- the nature of any plan of survey filed or registered on the parcel, other than the condominium plan
- the unit factors, and the criteria used to determine how those unit factors were allocated
The contribution line on the information statement is the corporation's contribution amount and the basis used to set it. The estoppel certificate is the contribution payable by that owner, for the units that owner holds. A buyer who wants both facts asks for both documents.
The structural-deficiency line is limited to what the corporation knows at the time of the request, in the buildings on the condominium plan. A home inspector looks at the unit. Your lawyer reads what the corporation put in the statement.
The reserve fund line states the amount of the capital replacement reserve fund. The reserve fund plan, the reserve fund report, and the annual reserve fund report are separate documents under section 20.52(1)(q).
Where a special levy shows up
A special levy is the charge buyers often call a special assessment. Section 39.1 of the Act governs it. The information statement's list in section 20.52(1)(a) does not include a special levy. The estoppel certificate does not set out a levy's purpose, or a levy that owners have only discussed.
A board resolution approving a special levy has to state the purpose, the total amount, how each unit's share is determined, and the date it must be paid. If the purpose is a capital improvement, section 39.1(3) requires a special resolution before the board may approve the levy. After the resolution passes, section 39.1(4) requires the board to tell each owner the purpose, the total, the method, that owner's share, and the due date.
A buyer finds that record in two other documents a person can request under section 44:
- for a particular fiscal year, approved minutes of general meetings and of board meetings, plus draft general-meeting minutes when approved minutes are not yet available, for meetings at least 30 days before the request (Regulation section 20.52(1)(h))
- the text of written ordinary and special resolutions, and the results of those votes, other than a vote by show of hands (Regulation section 20.52(1)(l))
How condo special assessments work walks through the buyer side of a levy. The Act's name for the charge is special levy. The St. Albert condo document checklist is the wider set of documents I gather before conditions come off.
Section 39(1) defines a contribution to include a regular amount for the operating account and the reserve fund, a chargeback, or a special levy that has been levied. The estoppel certificate states the contribution payable, the frequency, any arrears, and any interest. It does not label which of those three a figure belongs to. Your lawyer can match a number on the certificate to the resolution.
Bylaws, budget, and the rest of the financial file
A copy of the bylaws is its own document under section 20.52(1)(g). The same written request under section 44 can also cover the budget (section 20.52(1)(e)) and the annual financial statements (section 20.52(1)(f)).
Those documents, with the reserve fund report, are where a buyer reads how the corporation plans and spends. The information statement gives specific facts, including the reserve fund amount, the contributions and how they were set, and the corporation's current loans. Your lawyer, and a condo-document reviewer where the file is thick, are the people who interpret that package.
Who can ask, and the 10 days the Act allows
Both documents start with a written request to the corporation. An owner, a purchaser, or a mortgagee may ask, and so may their lawyer. The Act uses the word solicitor for the lawyer. A mortgagee is a person who holds a mortgage on the unit. A person authorized in writing by an owner, a purchaser, or a mortgagee may request the estoppel certificate. For the information statement, section 44 also allows a person authorized in writing by any of those people, including the lawyer.
Section 43.2 requires the estoppel certificate within 10 days after the corporation receives the request. Section 44 requires the prescribed information or documents within 10 days after the corporation receives the request. The three-day period in the fee section below is separate, and that period excludes a holiday.
The corporation may provide the section 44 documents in electronic form unless the person asks for paper. That is section 44(2).
Fees the Regulation allows
Section 44.1 of the Act says a corporation may charge a fee where the Regulation authorizes it, up to the amount the Regulation sets. Section 20.53 sets maximums for the corporation, and for a person providing documents on the corporation's behalf. The Regulation does not require the corporation to charge the maximum.
In the ordinary course, the fee may not exceed:
- $200 for a certificate under section 43.2, the estoppel certificate
- $100 for an information statement that includes every item in section 20.52(1)(a)
- $10 for another document, or $0.25 a page when that document is a hard copy longer than 40 pages
If the corporation produces the document within three days of the request, excluding a holiday, it may add a further fee, subject to the bylaws:
- up to $100 for the estoppel certificate
- up to $50 for the information statement
- up to $20 for another document
A party at arm's length from both the corporation and the condominium manager may charge a reasonable fee for documents listed in section 20.52, and only on the conditions in section 20.53(3) and (4). The estoppel certificate is provided under section 43.2. It is not one of the documents in that section 20.52 list.
Section 20.54 says the corporation is not to charge for information or a document the person did not request, or for something the person was already entitled to receive without a request and has not yet received.
Have your lawyer read the file
On a condo purchase, I ask for the estoppel certificate and the information statement while the offer is still conditional, together with the minutes, resolutions, bylaws, budget, financial statements, and reserve fund report. That is the time to read them. I can help gather the package.
Your real estate lawyer reviews the documents for your purchase. Bring the lawyer anything in the certificate, the information statement, the minutes, or the resolutions that needs a legal answer.
Sources
These are office consolidations published by Alberta King's Printer for convenience of reference. Your lawyer can confirm the official text for your purchase. © Alberta King's Printer.
- Condominium Property Act, RSA 2000, c C-22, office consolidation current to May 14, 2026. Sections 39, 39.01, 39.1, 43.2, 44, and 44.1.
- Condominium Property Regulation, Alberta Regulation 168/2000, with amendments up to and including Alberta Regulation 23/2026, current to February 15, 2026. Sections 20.52, 20.53, 20.54, and 73.93.
Bottom Line
The estoppel certificate states the contributions, frequency, arrears, and interest for the owner's units. The information statement states the corporation's served lawsuits, reserve fund amount, known structural deficiencies, current loans, and the other facts in section 20.52(1)(a). Have your lawyer review both before you remove conditions.
For help gathering the condo documents on a purchase, talk to John. For the legal review, rely on your lawyer.
Just Call John.