Inspection before the acceptance of the condo

Private portion

The pre-acceptance inspection of a condo’s private portion follows the same regulations and standards as a house. Consult the page Inspection before the acceptance of the house to learn how to make the inspection.

Common portions

The inspection of the common portions if done jointly by the syndicate, once it is formed and no longer under the control of the contractor, by the building professional and by the contractor.

Here are all the steps to be completed by these 3 persons so that the inspection is compliant with the regulation:

1. The contractor must send a notice of the end of work to the syndicate of co-owners and to every known beneficiary once the work is complete, or when only minor work is left, such as the installation of a light fixture or of a missing piece of hardware.
2. Once it received this notice, the syndicate must choose a building professional (architect, engineer, or technologist) as soon as possible to carry out the inspection of the common portions. If this is not done, and if certain conditions are met (see section Make sure you follow the proper procedures!), the rule regarding the presumption of acceptance may apply. This inspection is to be done jointly by the building professional, the contractor, and the syndicate using a predetermined checklist provided by the guarantee administrator.
3. Following this inspection, the professional chosen by the syndicate produces a written declaration in which they establish the date of acceptance of the common portions and indicate the work that must be corrected and any minor work that may still need to be completed. The document prepared by the professional constitutes acceptance of the common portions. In the case of a co-ownership in phases, the acceptance of the common portions and the declaration must be completed at the end of work on each of the buildings.
4. If the syndicate representative or the building professional does not agree with the contractor about the work to be completed or corrected, make certain this is clearly indicated on the checklist provided for the inspection.
5. The contractor must send the acceptance document of the common portions prepared by the building professional to the syndicate, to each known co-owner and to all new owners when their contract is signed. The contractor must also send a copy to the guarantee administrator, upon request.

If any major work still needs to be done, the professional mandated by the syndicate cannot accept the common portions. The syndicate must then request, in writing and without delay, that the contractor finish the work, by sending him the list prepared by the professional, with a copy to the guarantee administrator.

Make sure you follow the proper procedures!

The Regulation respecting the guarantee plan for new residential buildings stipulates that the acceptance of the common portions is presumed to have taken place 6 months at the latest following the date of the end of the work, when the following 4 conditions have been met:

• The work related to the common portions is completed
• The syndicate has been formed and is no longer under the control of the contractor
• The notice of the end of work sent by the contractor to the syndicate (which is no longer under the control of the contractor) has informed the syndicate of its obligations concerning the acceptance of the common portions
• Six months have elapsed since the receipt of the notice by the syndicate, and the syndicate, without reason, has not had the inspection carried out for acceptance of the common portions

If any one of these 4 conditions is not satisfied, there is no presumed acceptance of the common portions.

If the syndicate has not received the notice of the end of work and the work related to the common portions has been completed, it must contact the contractor in order to obtain this notice. If the contractor does not respond to this request, the syndicate must contact the guarantee administrator.

The syndicate must therefore be very vigilant about receiving the notice of the end of work from the contractor and follow the procedure outlined in order to ensure that the inspection with the professional is done according to common trade practices. In fact, certain coverage provided by the guarantee begins on the date of the end of the work, and other coverage begins at the time of acceptance of the common portions.