The mandatory condominium maintenance logbook is a register in which the building’s entire history is recorded and which is essential to the condominium’s life. It contains both all the operations performed and those to come.
The condominium maintenance logbook is mandatory
Article 1070 of the Quebec Civil Code modified by Bill 16 of December 2019 states in paragraph 1070.2 that “The board of directors has a building maintenance logbook established, which describes in particular the maintenance done and to be done. He keeps this logbook up to date and has it revised periodically.“.
The mandatory condominium maintenance logbook is part of a global approach to ensure the continuity and security of the condominium and its occupants by avoiding forgetting an obligation or unnecessary interventions.
What are the components of the maintenance logbook?
The mandatory condominium maintenance logbook describes all the stages in the building’s lifespan since its construction. It contains the insurance, warranty, upkeep and maintenance contracts related to the building and recalls its technical construction characteristics.
Here are the descriptive elements and the documents that must be attached to the maintenance logbook:
The history of the site hosting the building,
The building construction permit,
The technical description including in particular the architectural, cadastral and engineering plans and technical studies,
The years of construction and renovation,
The date of completion of major works,
The contact details of the companies that carried out the work and the related documents (quotes, invoices, plans, guarantees, etc.),
The list and a description of the common areas and the date of receipt of these by the condo board,
The warranty, maintenance and upkeep contracts with the expiry date,
- Planning, history and monitoring of maintenance work.
The maintenance logbook ensures continuity
The quality of the mandatory condominium maintenance logbook is at the height of the administrators’ investment in the building’s management and governance.
The administrators come and go, but the condominium remains. The maintenance logbook is the building’s memory and contributes to its stability over the years. It makes it possible to plan and monitor the interventions to be carried out in order to meet legal and contractual obligations.
The building’s heritage policy can be defined through a multi-year work plan including the priorities and start dates of the necessary upkeep and maintenance operations.
The building’s history and the information contained in the mandatory condominium maintenance logbook will help the professionals responsible for defining the amount of the contingency fund every five years, as provided for in article 39 of Bill 16 amending Article 1071 of the QCC, and to predict it as accurately as possible thanks to the precise knowledge of the state of the building and the lifespan of the elements which constitute it.
As a reminder, the contingency fund must provide financing covering the interventions necessary for the building’s proper functioning for a period of 30 years. It is clear that precise knowledge of the building’s history is a major asset in limiting the amount of the budget linked to contingencies and in calculating as accurately as possible the amount to be provisioned each year by the co-owners.