Condo Snow Removal Responsibility Alberta: Who Clears
Snow gets cleared properly at a condo when somebody has decided, in writing, who is responsible for which surface. Where nobody decided, the front stairs get done and the visitor parking does not.
Responsibility at an Alberta condo splits across four parties: the corporation, the property manager, the unit owner and the tenant. The split is set by the condominium plan and the bylaws, not by assumption or by what the last contractor happened to do.
Common property, unit and exclusive possession
Every surface at a condo falls into one of three categories, and snow responsibility follows the category. Common property belongs to the corporation. A unit belongs to the owner. Exclusive possession areas are common property that one owner is allowed to use alone, and they are where most disputes start.
Common property is the part of the land and buildings that is not a unit. At a typical Edmonton condo that covers the main drive aisles, visitor parking, entry walkways, front stairs, the parkade ramp and the public sidewalk out front.
Exclusive possession areas are granted to a specific owner by bylaw, lease or licence. Parking stalls, balconies, patios and storage are the usual examples. Section 50 of the Condominium Property Act lets the corporation require that owner to maintain and repair the area, and if the owner does not, the corporation can do the work and recover the cost.
Bare land condos change the picture considerably. In a bare land plan the unit is the parcel of land itself, so a driveway that would be common property in a conventional building may be entirely the owner's. Read your own condominium plan rather than copying what the complex down the street does.
The plan and bylaws can also override default positions in the Act, including where common property boundaries sit. Confirm yours before writing anything into a snow removal contract.
What the condominium corporation is responsible for
The corporation controls, manages and administers the common property, and section 37 of the Condominium Property Act imposes a duty to keep it in a state of good and serviceable repair. Alberta courts have read that as a duty to correct deficiencies, or at minimum to investigate them, rather than simply to maintain what is already there.
For snow, that puts the corporation on the hook for drive aisles, walkways, entrances and the sidewalk. The corporation is also the occupier of that common property under Alberta's Occupiers' Liability Act, which means the duty to keep visitors reasonably safe sits with the corporation and not with whichever contractor was hired to do the work.
Snow removal is an operating expense funded from condo fees, not from the reserve fund. The reserve fund exists for major repair and replacement of capital items. A board that funds a bad winter out of reserve creates a shortfall that surfaces at the next reserve fund study, usually as a special levy.
The practical failures are predictable. Visitor parking gets skipped because it is nobody's stall. The parkade ramp gets treated as a driving surface and never gets hand work at the pedestrian door. The stretch between the last stall and the front entrance belongs to everybody and gets cleared by nobody, which is why parking lot plowing in Edmonton needs to be scoped with the walking route drawn on the map.
Where the property manager fits in
The manager executes and the board decides. A management agreement governs the control, management and administration of the corporation's property, but it does not transfer the corporation's statutory duty or its status as occupier of the common property.
In practice the manager scopes the work, tenders it, recommends a contractor, holds the insurance certificates, monitors service and reports back to the board. Approval of the contract itself, and of any spend outside the approved budget, stays with the board.
This breaks down over authority during a storm. If a site needs a third pass at two in the morning and the manager has no pre-approved threshold to authorise it, nothing happens until the office opens. Set that spending authority in advance, record it in the minutes, and attach a dollar figure and a trigger to it.
What owners and tenants actually handle
Owners handle their exclusive possession areas where the bylaws say so, and tenants handle whatever the lease assigns. Neither arrangement takes the corporation's duty off the common property.
Balconies and patios. Usually exclusive possession, usually the owner's to clear, and usually ignored until a drain backs up and the unit below reports a leak.
Assigned parking stalls. Often the owner clears snow immediately around the vehicle while the corporation clears the aisle. Confirm which, because half-cleared stalls are a standing complaint at most Edmonton condos.
The unit itself, and anything inside its boundary as drawn on the condominium plan.
Nothing on common property. A tenant who shovels the front stairs out of goodwill does not become responsible for them.
A tenant in a condo is usually in the weakest position and the least informed. Tell them in writing what gets cleared, roughly when, and where to report an icy patch. It costs one email at the start of the season and prevents most of the winter's complaints.
Writing a snow scope your board can approve
Boards reject snow contracts because they cannot tell what they are buying. A scope that maps the site, names the trigger and states the response window gets approved in one meeting. A quote carrying a price and a phone number will not.
A site map with every surface labelled and ranked by priority: entrances and fire exits, main drive aisles, visitor parking, resident stalls, sidewalks.
The trigger depth, and whether it is measured per event or per calendar day.
The response window in hours after the trigger is met.
Which surfaces get machine work and which get hand shovelling. Stairs, landings and the parkade pedestrian door have to be named individually or they will be missed.
Ice control: which product, on which surfaces, at what frequency, and whether it sits in the price or is billed per application.
Snow storage zones marked on the map, and the point at which hauling is triggered.
Proof of service: timestamped photographs, per visit, delivered somewhere the board can see them.
Current insurance and WCB certificates on file before the season starts.
Contract start and end dates, and what happens for an October or April event outside them.
Storage is the item boards most often leave out and most often regret. A condo lot loses stalls to piles by January, and at that point snow hauling in Edmonton arrives as an unbudgeted emergency rather than as a planned line item.
Entrances deserve their own line too. A machine-priced scope covers the lot and stops at the curb, which leaves the walkways and door approaches uncovered unless sidewalk clearing is written in separately.
Getting it through the board
Tender the same written scope to every bidder. Boards routinely compare prices that are not comparable, then choose the lowest, which is how a condo pays twice: once for the contract and once for everything the contract excluded.
Three quotes on one scope gives a board a decision. Three quotes on three scopes gives it a guess.
Bring the liability picture into the meeting as well. The corporation's exposure as occupier, rather than the contract price, is usually what moves a board off the cheapest bid and onto the right one.
Frequently asked questions
Who is responsible for snow removal at an Alberta condo?
The condominium corporation, for all common property. Section 37 of the Condominium Property Act gives it a duty to control and manage common property and keep it in good and serviceable repair. Owners are responsible for exclusive possession areas only where the bylaws assign that to them.
Can a condo board make owners clear their own parking stalls?
Yes, where the stall is an exclusive possession area and the bylaw, lease or licence assigns maintenance to the owner. Section 50 of the Act permits this, and allows the corporation to do the work and recover the cost if the owner does not.
Can snow removal be paid from the reserve fund?
No. Snow removal is an operating cost funded through condo fees. The reserve fund is for major repair and replacement of capital items, and drawing on it for routine seasonal service creates a shortfall against the reserve fund study.
Is the condo corporation liable if a visitor slips on common property?
The corporation is the occupier of that common property and owes visitors a duty of reasonable care under Alberta's Occupiers' Liability Act. Hiring a contractor does not remove the duty, though a contract with indemnity and current certificates can shift the financial exposure.
Who clears the public sidewalk in front of a condo building?
The corporation, as occupier of the adjacent land. Edmonton's Community Standards Bylaw requires sidewalks next to land you own or occupy to be kept clear of snow and ice, and the City asks for that to happen as soon as possible after a snowfall.
This article is general information about Alberta condominium law rather than legal advice. Your condominium plan and bylaws govern, and a board settling a responsibility question should read them alongside a lawyer.
Spartan Enhanced writes board-ready snow scopes for Edmonton condos and multi-family buildings, with mapped priority zones and timestamped service records. See our Edmonton property management coverage, or call 780-935-9243 to have your site mapped before the season starts.
