Joint Use Agreements: Who Pays for the Share of a Condominium Which Never Gets Developed?

Condominium projects are often built in phases, with a single developer dividing a parcel of land between various corporations, some of them only to be created in the future. In these kinds of developments, the corporations-to-be will often be expected to share various facilities (such as roadways, garages, gardens, pools and other facilities). In such projects, the developer often draft Joint Use Agreements to provide for the sharing of the cost and responsibilities associated with the use, maintenance and repairs of these shared facilities. These Joint Use Agreements are drafted by the developer, without input from the condominiums who will eventually be bound by them for decades to come.  While cohabitation between these condominiums can unfold without a hitch, it is not always the case.

In a recent Ottawa decision, a judge had to determine how to apportion the cost of shared facilities in a case where the third and final condominium corporation was never developed.