Bill 16 Condo Maintenance Log: Guide for Quebec Syndicates

Updated October 6, 2026, in light of the regulation that came into force on August 14, 2025.

Since Bill 16, every divided co-ownership syndicate in Quebec must have a maintenance log (carnet d’entretien, often called a maintenance logbook) established for its building, obtain a contingency fund study, and keep both documents up to date. For years, the regulation setting out their content was missing. It now exists: the Regulation establishing various rules concerning divided co-ownership has been in force since August 14, 2025, and existing syndicates have until August 15, 2028 to obtain their documents.

This guide takes stock, backed by official sources: what the law requires, who can do what, how the maintenance log and the contingency fund work together, the pitfalls to avoid, and what remains once the log is delivered: carrying out and documenting the maintenance every year. That is where Beau-frère à louer comes in, with the “Maintenance Log Upkeep” offer for syndicates, and the Club and the Maintenance Plan for co-owners.

In this guide:

What Bill 16 requires of your syndicate
The deadlines at a glance
Maintenance log and contingency fund: why they go together
The real challenge: the annual update
Pitfalls to avoid
What Beau-frère à louer does: maintenance log upkeep
For co-owners: the Club and the Maintenance Plan
What we never do
Frequently asked questions

What Bill 16 requires of your syndicate

Bill 16 (S.Q. 2019, chapter 28) amended the Civil Code of Québec. Its obligations for condominiums come down to two articles, detailed by the 2025 regulation.

The maintenance log (article 1070.2 of the Civil Code)

“The board of directors causes a maintenance log to be established for the immovable which describes, in particular, maintenance done and maintenance required. The board of directors keeps the log up to date and has it reviewed periodically.” (C.C.Q., art. 1070.2)

The regulation specifies what the maintenance log must contain (CQLR, c. CCQ, r. 8.01, ss. 2 and 3):

an inventory and description of the common portions, as well as of the materials, apparatus and equipment the syndicate is responsible for, including those located in the private portions;
for each one: the installation date if known, the required maintenance work and its frequency, the date it was done, routine repairs, maintenance and warranty contracts, inspection or expert reports, and the manufacturer’s manuals;
in a separate section, an estimate of the condition and remaining useful life of each element, and the major repairs and replacements planned over at least 25 years, each with an estimated year of completion.

Who can establish and review the maintenance log

Only a member of the Ordre des ingénieurs, the Ordre des évaluateurs agréés, the Ordre des architectes or the Ordre des technologues professionnels du Québec whose professional activities primarily concern property management, construction, renovation, assessment or inspection. This person must be independent of the building: not a director, the manager, a co-owner or an occupant (regulation, s. 1). They sign a declaration attesting that they examined the premises (s. 6).

The annual update, by the board of directors

The maintenance log must be updated by the board of directors at least once a year. The update consists of adding any new information or document: maintenance done, repairs, contracts, warranties, reports. Major repairs and replacements carried out are recorded with their date and cost, and if planned work was not done, the log must say so and explain why (ss. 3 and 4).

The professional review, every 5 years

The maintenance log is reviewed by a qualified professional at least every 5 years, taking the annual updates into account. The review may be done every 10 years if the building meets one of these conditions: it has no more than 8 private portions (storage and parking spaces excluded), no common portion is located in a building, or it has no more than 3 fully above-ground floors (s. 5).

The contingency fund study (article 1071 of the Civil Code)

The syndicate establishes a contingency fund to be used for major repairs and replacement of the common portions. The board of directors obtains a study establishing the sums needed for the fund to be sufficient (C.C.Q., art. 1071). Under the regulation, this study must be obtained at least every 5 years, and it is based on the section of the maintenance log describing the major repairs and replacements for the next 25 years (s. 8). It can be performed by the same professionals as the maintenance log, or by a chartered professional accountant who is independent of the building (s. 7).

The syndicate’s certificate when a unit is sold

When a co-owner sells, the syndicate must give them, within 15 days of their request, a certificate attesting to the condition of the co-ownership (C.C.Q., art. 1068.1). Among other things, it summarizes the state of the contingency fund, the major repairs of the past 5 years and the work planned for the next 10. In other words: a well-kept maintenance log shows when it is time to sell.

The deadlines at a glance

July 30, 2025: the regulation is published in the Gazette officielle du Québec (Order in Council 991-2025, in French).
August 14, 2025: the regulation comes into force.
August 15, 2028: deadline for existing syndicates. Under Bill 16, the maintenance log and the contingency fund study must be obtained no later than the day following the third anniversary of the regulation’s coming into force. The Société d’habitation du Québec sets that date at August 15, 2028 (SHQ explanatory guide, in French).
Within 60 days of obtaining them: the board of directors makes the maintenance log and the study available to the co-owners, or before the annual meeting if it is held sooner.
30 days after the annual meeting following the first study: the board sets the amounts to be paid into the contingency fund. If the fund is insufficient, it has no more than 10 years to make it sufficient.
Every year: the board of directors updates the maintenance log.
Every 5 years (or 10 years for certain small buildings): professional review of the maintenance log; a new contingency fund study every 5 years.

Maintenance log and contingency fund: why they go together

The old reflex was to see the contingency fund as one line in the budget. The regulation now links them explicitly: the contingency fund study starts from the list of major repairs and replacements recorded in the maintenance log, with their estimated year. If the log is incomplete or poorly kept, the study is built on sand, and so are the contributions.

The reverse is just as true: regular, dated and documented maintenance extends the useful life of building components. A roof whose drains are cleared every season, caulking redone on time, a water infiltration fixed at the first sign: these are all things the professional will be able to take into account at the next review. Routine maintenance does not replace the study, but it gives it better data.

That is why many syndicates have the maintenance log and the study prepared by the same firm, at the same time: a single inventory, a single site visit, and consistency between what is planned and what is budgeted.

The real challenge: the annual update

Having the maintenance log established is a one-time mandate given to a professional. Keeping it up to date every year falls to the board of directors, often made up of volunteers who have a job, a family and little time to chase invoices. In practice, the annual update means being able to answer these questions:

Which maintenance tasks planned in the log were done this year, on what date, and by whom?
Which routine repairs were made, and how much did they cost?
Which contracts, warranties and reports were added?
What was planned and not done, and why?
What deteriorated faster than expected and should be flagged to the professional?

Without a record kept throughout the year, these answers get pieced together at the last minute, before the meeting, from scattered emails and invoices. That is exactly the work we offer to take on.

Pitfalls to avoid

1. Waiting until the last year

The August 15, 2028 deadline applies to every existing condominium in Quebec. Firms of qualified professionals cannot stretch indefinitely: syndicates that start early get to choose their firm and their schedule.

2. Treating the maintenance log as a document to file away

The maintenance log is not a report you receive and shelve. The regulation requires an annual update and a periodic review: it is a living document, only as good as what is added to it each year.

3. Recording only major work

The maintenance log also covers the required maintenance work and its frequency, as well as routine repairs. Minor upkeep of components (roof drains, caulking, exit doors, emergency lighting, ventilation) is part of what you must be able to date.

4. Neglecting the paperwork

Contracts, warranties, invoices, inspection reports, manufacturer’s manuals: they must be added to the maintenance log. A document that cannot be found on the day a warranty could apply costs the contingency fund dearly.

5. Forgetting the co-owners

The maintenance log and the study must be made available to them, and it is their contributions that finance the fund. A clear presentation at the meeting of what was done and what is coming avoids a lot of debate.

6. Underestimating the routine maintenance budget

The contingency fund pays for major repairs and replacements. Routine maintenance comes out of the operating budget: it has to be planned, otherwise it gets postponed, and what gets postponed often ends up as a major repair.

7. Multiplying contractors with no one coordinating

A painter for the hallways, a glazier, a contractor for the fences, another for the drains: without a single point of contact, the board becomes a site coordinator, and the record gets lost between suppliers.

What Beau-frère à louer does: maintenance log upkeep, every year

Our role begins where the professional’s ends. The technologist or engineer writes the maintenance log. We carry out the maintenance it calls for and document it, every year, so the board of directors’ annual update takes no effort.

The “Maintenance Log Upkeep” offer

Included	Details
2 inspections of the common areas per year	In spring and fall, following the sections of your syndicate’s maintenance log, with photos.
Record of interventions	Every intervention dated, with photos and costs, available to the board on the portal.
Annual report to the board	What was done, what is coming, the items to watch, formatted for the annual update of the maintenance log.
A single point of contact	We coordinate our divisions: hallway painting, shared fences and patios, windows.
48-hour priority	For the common areas.
Member rate for the syndicate	$75 an hour instead of $85 for the work.

Planned rate: $99 per month per building, plus $4 per unit per month. Work is billed separately, at the member rate. Taxes extra. For example, for 12 units: $99 + 12 × $4 = $147 per month, or about $12 per unit.

How it works, in practice

You hand us your maintenance log
The maintenance log prepared by your professional becomes the list of building components we follow. We go over it line by line with you.
The board decides who does what
For each maintenance task planned in the log, the board chooses: the syndicate handles it, your usual professional or contractor does, or Beau-frère à louer does. Whatever is entrusted to us becomes the building’s annual maintenance.
Two inspections a year
In spring and fall, we walk through the common areas following the sections of your maintenance log, with photos.
Every intervention is recorded
Date, work done, photos, cost: everything goes into the record, available to the board on the portal.
The annual report arrives before your update
It follows the sections of the maintenance log. If an item is deteriorating faster than expected, it is marked “to flag to your professional”. We never change the maintenance log ourselves: the update remains the board’s.

Does your syndicate want to take stock?

Ask for the free consultation for syndicates: a conversation with an advisor about your common areas, your maintenance log and what your board of directors would like to entrust to us. You then receive a preliminary assessment of the building to present to your board.

Request a syndicate consultation

For co-owners: the Club and the Maintenance Plan

The maintenance log covers the common portions. Your unit remains your responsibility: water heater, smoke alarms, bathroom seals, ventilation, private windows depending on your declaration of co-ownership. When your syndicate signs up for the “Maintenance Log Upkeep” offer, each co-owner can join the Beau-frère à louer Club at the group rate of $39 a month (instead of $49), with an inspection of their unit included every year, the report and its maintenance priorities, a dedicated advisor and the member rate of $75 an hour.

Those who want us to take care of it for them add the Maintenance Plan: $39 more per month for four one-hour seasonal visits, travel included, following a routine prepared for your unit, plus any extra tasks you give us. Since the common area inspection and the unit inspections are done on the same day, everyone saves on travel time.

The Club is also available to homeowners with no connection to a syndicate: $39 a month for the first 100 members, guaranteed for life, then $49 a month. Details are on the Club page and the Maintenance Plan page (in French).

Are you a condo manager? See also our page for condo managers.

What we never do

To keep roles clear, and to protect your syndicate:

We do not write or sign the initial maintenance log. That is the work of an independent professional technologist, engineer, architect or chartered appraiser.
We do not perform the contingency fund study.
We do not perform the 5-year professional review.
We do not certify anything. We carry out and we document. None of our reports attests that your syndicate meets its legal obligations: only your professional and your board of directors can speak to that.
Work in regulated trades (electrical, plumbing, gas, refrigeration, etc.) is entrusted to contractors licensed in those specialties.

Beau-frère à louer holds Régie du bâtiment du Québec licence R.B.Q. 5622-9370-01.

Frequently asked questions

What is the deadline to obtain the maintenance log and the contingency fund study?

For existing syndicates, August 15, 2028. Bill 16 sets the deadline at the day following the third anniversary of the regulation’s coming into force, which was August 14, 2025. A maintenance log or study obtained between August 14, 2023 and August 14, 2025 may remain valid, if its author meets the requirements of the regulation.

How often must the maintenance log be updated?

The board of directors must update it at least once a year, adding the maintenance done, repairs, contracts, warranties and reports. It must also be reviewed by a professional at least every 5 years, or every 10 years for certain small buildings.

Who can establish a condominium’s maintenance log?

A member of the Ordre des ingénieurs, the Ordre des évaluateurs agréés, the Ordre des architectes or the Ordre des technologues professionnels du Québec whose professional activities primarily concern real estate, and who has no connection to the building (not a director, the manager, a co-owner or an occupant).

Can Beau-frère à louer write our maintenance log?

No. The maintenance log must be established by a qualified professional. Our role comes next: carrying out the maintenance planned in the log, recording each intervention and giving the board of directors an annual report that makes updating the log easier.

What does the annual report to the board of directors contain?

What was done during the year (dates, photos, costs), what is coming and the items to watch, organized according to the sections of your maintenance log. Anything that deserves your professional’s attention is flagged as such.

How much does the “Maintenance Log Upkeep” offer cost?

The planned rate is $99 per month per building, plus $4 per unit per month, taxes extra. Work is billed separately, at the member rate of $75 an hour. The offer starts with a pilot project in spring 2027 with a few syndicates; the rate will be confirmed at the end of the pilot.

Can co-owners benefit from the Club?

Yes. When their syndicate signs up for the offer, co-owners can join the Club at the group rate of $39 a month, with an inspection of their unit included every year, and add the Maintenance Plan as an option.

Do co-owners have access to the maintenance log?

Yes. The maintenance log and the contingency fund study are part of the co-ownership’s register, and the board of directors must make them available to the co-owners within 60 days of obtaining them.

Sign up your syndicate

Limited spots for the spring 2027 pilot project. Start with the free consultation: an advisor takes stock with your board of directors.