Who pays for condo windows in Ontario depends on your corporation's description and declaration. By default under the Condominium Act, 1998, the corporation maintains the common elements and repairs after damage (ss.89-90), and each owner maintains their unit. A unit owner who rents still owes the tenant repairs under RTA s.20(1).
If you rent out a condo in Ontario and a window fails, you are dealing with two sets of rules at once. Your tenant's rights come from the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA). Who actually repairs and pays for the window comes from the Condominium Act, 1998 and your building's declaration. They do not always point at the same person, and the gap is where condo landlords get caught. This guide is for condo unit owners who rent.
Are condo windows part of the unit or the common elements in Ontario?
It depends on the building: Ontario's Condominium Act does not say windows are always one or the other, and the answer is in each corporation's description and declaration. Under section 8(1), every condominium's registered description must specify "the boundaries of each unit by reference to the buildings or other monuments." Whatever lies outside a unit's boundaries is common elements.
Descriptions differ from building to building. In some, the windows fall outside the unit boundaries and are common elements, sometimes exclusive-use common elements; in others they are part of the unit. The only reliable answer is in your corporation's documents:
- The description (the boundaries of the units).
- The declaration, including any schedule of maintenance and repair responsibilities, and any exclusive-use common elements.
- The by-laws, including any standard unit by-law.
Your status certificate package, or a request to the property manager, will usually get you copies. See our guide to condo rentals, board rules and status certificates.
Who repairs and who maintains condo windows in Ontario?
By default in Ontario, the condo corporation repairs units and common elements after damage (Condominium Act s.89), maintains the common elements, and leaves maintenance of each unit to its owner (s.90). The declaration can change those defaults (s.91).
| Duty | Default under the Act | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Repair after damage (s.89) | The corporation repairs the units and common elements after damage | Includes repair and replacement "after damage or failure", but not improvements made to a unit beyond the standard unit |
| Maintenance (s.90) | The corporation maintains the common elements; each owner maintains their unit | Includes repair after normal wear and tear, but not repair after damage |
Section 91 allows the declaration to provide that each owner repairs their own unit after damage; that owners maintain the common elements or part of them; that each owner maintains and repairs after damage the common elements they have the exclusive use of; or that the corporation maintains the units or part of them. If your windows are exclusive-use common elements, check whether the declaration has moved their upkeep to you.
If the owner does not do the work
Under section 92, if the declaration puts a repair-after-damage obligation on the owner and the owner does not act within a reasonable time, the corporation must do the work. Where the declaration makes owners maintain part of the common elements, or an owner fails to maintain their unit in a way that risks damage or injury, and the owner does not act within a reasonable time, the corporation may do the work. In both cases the owner is deemed to consent and the cost is added to the owner's common expenses.
Insurance deductibles
Section 105 makes the deductible on the corporation's insurance a common expense in general. But if the owner, the owner's tenant, or someone living in the unit with the owner's permission causes damage to the unit through an act or omission, the lesser of the repair cost and the deductible is added to that owner's common expenses. Some corporations have passed by-laws widening that rule. A tenant who leaves a window open in a rainstorm can therefore become the landlord's cost.
Replacing windows yourself
If the windows are common elements, an owner who wants to upgrade them generally cannot just hire a contractor. Section 98 requires board approval and a written agreement allocating cost and future maintenance, repair and insurance responsibility for owner changes to the common elements. The corporation also has its own right of entry on reasonable notice under section 19 to carry out its duties.
Is an Ontario condo landlord responsible to the tenant for window repairs?
Yes, on the conservative reading: RTA section 20(1) makes the Ontario landlord responsible for keeping the rental unit in good repair, and the RTA contains no exception for a landlord whose condominium corporation is responsible for the windows. RTA section 20(1) covers the rental unit and the residential complex, including compliance with maintenance standards.
The conservative reading, and the one we recommend planning around, is that the tenant's claim runs against you. If a common-element window leaks and the corporation is slow, your tenant can still file a T6 against you, and the LTB can order repairs, a rent abatement or other remedies under RTA s.30. You then pursue the corporation under the Condominium Act.
How can an Ontario condo owner get the corporation to fix a window?
An Ontario condo owner can write to the property manager and board citing the duty, require compliance under Condominium Act s.119(3), and use mediation, arbitration or a court compliance order (ss.132 and 134) if needed:
- Write to the property manager and board. Cite the declaration clause or the default in s.89 or s.90 that puts the work on the corporation.
- Use the Act's dispute process. Section 119(3) gives an owner the right to require compliance with the Act, the declaration, the by-laws and the rules. Under section 134, an owner can apply to the Superior Court of Justice for a compliance order, but where the mediation and arbitration processes in section 132 apply, those must be tried first. The Condominium Authority Tribunal hears only prescribed categories of disputes, so check whether yours is one before filing there.
- Coordinate access. The corporation must give reasonable notice to enter the unit (s.19). Your tenant is entitled to 24 hours' written notice under the RTA for entry by the landlord. Agree with the property manager on dates and pass on a proper notice. See notice rules for window work.
Do Ontario condo rules bind the tenant?
Yes. Section 119(1) of Ontario's Condominium Act binds occupiers, including tenants, to the Act, declaration, by-laws and rules, and s.119(2) requires owners to take reasonable steps to make sure their occupiers comply. Section 83 requires an owner who leases the unit to notify the corporation within 10 days, provide the tenant's name, the owner's address and a copy of the lease or a summary in the prescribed form, and give the tenant copies of the declaration, by-laws and rules. Rules about window coverings, window film or air conditioner installation often sit in those documents, so make sure your tenant has them.
Choosing a window contractor for an Ontario condo: what comes first?
For Ontario condo windows, settle who is responsible with the corporation before you choose a contractor:
- Confirm in writing whether the corporation or the owner is responsible before you obtain quotes.
- If the windows are common elements, ask the property manager which contractors and specifications the corporation requires, and whether a section 98 agreement is needed.
- Ask whether a building permit is needed; in Toronto, window replacement in buildings other than single-unit houses requires one (City of Toronto).
- Confirm insurance, and coordinate dates with the property manager and your tenant.
How can Tenon10 help condo landlords with window problems?
Tenants can report window problems through Tenon10's maintenance requests, giving condo landlords a dated record of the report to forward to the corporation, alongside the lease and other records for the unit.
Frequently asked questions
Are condo windows common elements in Ontario?
Often, but not always. It depends on how your Ontario corporation's description sets the unit boundaries (Condominium Act s.8(1)) and on the declaration, so read your own documents.
Who pays to replace old, drafty condo windows in Ontario?
If the windows are common elements and the declaration does not shift the duty, maintenance (including repair after normal wear and tear) falls on the corporation under s.90, so the owners share the cost through common expenses. If the declaration assigns maintenance to owners, the owner pays.
My tenant filed a T6 about a condo window. Can I say it is the condo's fault?
You can explain what you did, but the RTA puts the repair duty on the Ontario landlord and has no condo exception. The conservative approach is to assume you are responsible to your tenant and pursue the corporation separately.
Who pays the insurance deductible if a tenant damages a condo window?
Under Condominium Act s.105, if the owner's tenant causes damage to the unit through an act or omission, the lesser of the repair cost and the corporation's deductible is added to the owner's common expenses. Some corporations have by-laws widening that rule.
Can my tenant install a window AC in an Ontario condo?
RTA s.36.1 lets tenants install a window or portable air conditioner in many cases, but the installation must comply with applicable law, and the condo's declaration and rules bind the tenant. Check those documents first, and see our AC rules guide.
Which Ontario guides cover condo rentals and repairs?
- Condo Rentals in Toronto: Board Rules and Status Certificates
- Drafty Windows in an Ontario Rental: Does the Landlord Have to Fix Them?
- The T6 Application: How Tenants Enforce Repairs at the LTB
- Should You Rent Out Your Toronto Condo or Sell It in 2026?
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