Condo Owner Alterations in Ontario: What Boards Should Know About Section 98
(From a Condominium Management Expert)
Practical Guidance for Smarter Governance in London & Sarnia, Ontario
An owner emails the board asking to install hardwood flooring, mount an EV charger in the parking garage, replace a balcony railing, or add a small deck outside their unit. It sounds simple, and the temptation is to say yes and move on. In Ontario, owner alterations to the common elements are tightly regulated, and that quick yes can create years of liability once the change touches anything the corporation owns.
The question of who may alter the common elements, and on what terms, is governed by the Condominium Act, 1998, and getting it wrong is expensive to unwind. This guide explains when an owner needs board approval, what a Section 98 agreement is, and the exact steps a well run board and its management company should follow before any work begins.
Can a condo owner make changes to the common elements in Ontario?
Generally no. In Ontario, an owner cannot alter, add to, or improve the common elements without the board's approval and, in most cases, a written agreement registered on the unit's title. Owners are usually free to make cosmetic changes inside their own unit, but balconies, exterior walls, the parking garage, hallways, and building systems are typically common elements or exclusive use common elements, even when only one owner uses them.
Your declaration draws the exact line between the unit and the common elements, so that document is always the starting point. The following requests almost always cross into common element territory and trigger the approval process:
• Installing an EV charging station in a parking space
• Building a deck, patio, or fence on exclusive use common element space
• Replacing balcony railings, glass, or flooring
• Cutting into an exterior wall for a vent, exhaust, or air conditioner
• Adding a ramp, lift, or other structural change
Even interior work can require review if it affects plumbing, electrical, or structural elements shared with the building. When in doubt, the change should be treated as a common element alteration until proven otherwise.
What is a Section 98 agreement and when is it required?
A Section 98 agreement is a written contract between an owner and the condo corporation that must be in place before an owner alters the common elements. It is named after Section 98 of the Condominium Act, 1998. Under that section, an owner may make the change only if four conditions are met: the board passes a resolution approving it, the owner and corporation sign an agreement containing the required terms, any notice to other owners under Section 97 is given where applicable, and the corporation includes a copy of the agreement in that notice.
The agreement itself must spell out three things: who pays for the work, who is responsible afterward for repair, maintenance, and insurance, and who owns the change. It only takes effect once the corporation registers it against the title to the owner's unit. This is where many boards get burned, because if the paperwork is silent or missing, the corporation can end up maintaining and insuring an alteration it never wanted. EV charger requests are one of the most common alteration questions boards face today. For more on that, read our guide: EV Charging Stations in Ontario Condos: A Board's Guide (sapphirecondomgmt.ca/ev-charging-stations-ontario-condo-board-guide).
This is not legal advice, but generally speaking under Ontario law, a Section 98 agreement should be prepared or reviewed by the corporation's lawyer before it is signed and registered, because the wording is what protects the corporation years down the road.
What should your board and management company do when an owner requests an alteration?
Every alteration request should follow a consistent, documented process, and your management company should be driving it. A request that arrives by email should never turn into a verbal yes in the parking lot. A capable manager turns each request into a clean file the board can act on:
• Get the request in writing, with drawings, specifications, and the contractor's details
• Confirm whether the change touches the common elements or exclusive use areas
• Check the declaration, bylaws, and rules for anything the change would breach
• Assess the effect on appearance, other units, corporation expenses, and structural integrity
• Refer the matter to the corporation's lawyer to prepare a Section 98 agreement
• Pass a board resolution and give any required Section 97 notice to owners
• Register the agreement on title before work starts, and require proof of the owner's insurance
If your current manager simply forwards these requests to the board with no framework, or tells owners to proceed verbally, that is a gap worth addressing. This is exactly the kind of process that separates professional condo management in London Ontario from a company that just passes paperwork along. At Sapphire, we find that boards who handle alterations this way avoid the disputes that surface years later when a balcony leaks or a deck needs replacing.
Because alterations can quietly shift maintenance and insurance costs onto the corporation, it is worth understanding how your reserve fund and operating budget would absorb them. If you would like a second opinion on your financial statements on us, you can request a free financial review at sapphirecondomgmt.ca/financial-review-on-us.
Who pays for an owner's alteration, and who maintains it afterward?
Under a properly drafted Section 98 agreement, the owner pays for the alteration and remains responsible for its future repair, maintenance, insurance, and eventual removal. The corporation should not inherit those costs. Because the agreement is registered on title, that obligation binds future owners of the unit, so when the unit sells, the responsibility follows the alteration rather than landing on the corporation.
Without an agreement, responsibility becomes murky and the corporation often absorbs the cost by default, which is the outcome the process is designed to prevent. Alterations involving balconies, exterior walls, or plumbing are also a frequent source of leaks, and responsibility for the resulting damage can get complicated fast. For more on that, read our guide: Water Damage in Ontario Condos: Who Is Responsible? (sapphirecondomgmt.ca/water-damage-condo-responsibility-ontario).
What happens if an owner alters the common elements without approval?
If an owner changes the common elements without board approval and a Section 98 agreement, the corporation can require the owner to enter into an agreement after the fact, restore the common elements to their original state, or both, at the owner's cost. Ontario courts have ordered owners to sign retroactive agreements and, in some cases, to remove unauthorized additions. Enforcement after the fact is slower and far more expensive than getting the paperwork right up front, which is why a proactive process matters so much.
Handling an unauthorized change is really a compliance issue, and the same principles apply as with any rule breach. For more on that, read our guide: Enforcing Condo Rules in Ontario: A Board Member's Guide (sapphirecondomgmt.ca/enforcing-condo-rules-bylaws-ontario). Sapphire provides condo corp management for buildings across London and Sarnia Ontario, and we treat every alteration request as a file to be documented, not a favour to be granted. Boards that stay ahead of these requests rarely reach the point of a legal dispute.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Do I need board approval to renovate the inside of my condo unit in Ontario?
A: Usually not for cosmetic changes inside your own unit, such as paint or flooring, as long as they do not affect the common elements or building systems. However, if the work touches plumbing, electrical, structural elements, or anything shared with the building, confirm with your board or condo management company first. Your declaration defines the exact boundary of your unit.
Q: What is a Section 98 agreement in an Ontario condo?
A: A Section 98 agreement is a written contract, required under the Condominium Act, 1998, that lets an owner alter, add to, or improve the common elements. It sets out who pays for the change, who maintains and insures it afterward, and who owns it. The corporation registers it on the unit's title, so the obligations pass to future owners.
Q: Who pays to maintain a change an owner makes to the common elements?
A: The owner does, when the Section 98 agreement is drafted correctly. The agreement should assign all future repair, maintenance, insurance, and removal costs to the owner and their successors, not the corporation. If no agreement exists, the corporation can be left maintaining and insuring an alteration it never approved, which is exactly why the paperwork matters.
Related Reading
→ EV Charging Stations in Ontario Condos