The other day I received an email from a land surveyor who commented on the confusing nature of unit boundaries and thought a blog on this topic would be worthwhile.
The issue is that condo purchasers (whether buying a residential, retail or commercial units), will normally look at the marketing drawings when purchasing a unit which are then often incorporated into the Agreement of Purchase and Sale as a schedule. But what many of those purchasers don’t recognize, is that the “legal” boundaries of the unit are often not shown on those drawings and can only be determined by reviewing the wording in the Declaration and in particular, Schedule “C” and the Description.
Knowing what the boundaries are is important because the boundaries will determine what may covered by the condominium’s insurance policy, what the unit owner’s maintenance and repair responsibilities are and whether alterations can be made.
For purchasers, going through this exercise early on will ensure that adequate insurance is obtained, that the required repairs and maintenance are carried out to avoid any potential damages or costs and that the proper planning of alterations can be done ahead of time. This is a useful exercise for condo owners to do as well.
