My condo manager says I need a section 98 agreement. What is that?

Answers (1)

1. LE

   LokalMatch EditorialLokalMatch editorial

   Answered September 22, 2026

   It is the written agreement Ontario’s Condominium Act, 1998 requires between you and the corporation when your work changes a common element. The board approves the change first; then the agreement allocates the costs and sets out the duties and responsibilities on each side, and it is section 98 of the Act that governs it.

   Exclusive-use common elements are what catch owners out. A balcony or a terrace is usually a common element you alone are entitled to use — not part of your unit — so a door onto it goes through the same process as anything else out there. The agreement has to record who maintains and repairs your change afterwards, and that clause is the one that still matters in ten years.

   The board may also have to give notice of the common element change to all the owners, with a copy of the agreement attached, so it is not a private arrangement.

   And if an owner does not comply with an agreement for an improvement to the common elements, the corporation can charge the costs back to them with interest. Read it before you sign it, not after the trades are booked.

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Sources

Where the facts on this page come from.

1. 1

   What are common elements in a condo and can you change them — Condominium Authority of Ontario (accessed September 21, 2026)

2. 2

   Condominium Act, 1998, S.O. 1998, c. 19 — Government of Ontario (accessed September 21, 2026)