Definition : Elevator

A source of permanent controversy in co-ownership, cannabis and tobacco smoking arouse passions. However, it is recognized that there is no inalienable right for a co-owner to smoke in the common portions or in a private portion. On the contrary, the common law on abnormal neighbourhood disturbances and the effects of second-hand smoke on the health of people exposed to it advocate prohibition. In this regard, the right to life and to the safety and integrity of the person enshrined in the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms is moving towards an obligation to abstain from smoking in collective dwellings. Under the circumstances, should co-ownership syndicates banish this habit?  This is not an easy question to answer. Easier said than done, some will say. And they are not wrong. Here’s a look at the whole legal issue that defines smoking in co-ownerships.

Divided co-ownership is a housing formula that usually has more than one owner.  In order to assess and quantify the interest of each person in the building, the legislator has provided that the right of ownership of each owner in the common portions is proportional to the relative value of his fraction.  To determine the relative  value of a unit, it must be compared with the value of all the other units of the co-ownership.  The relative value is calculated and usually expressed as a percentage or thousandths.  Its distribution is recorded in the declaration of co-ownership, (the  constituting act of the co-ownership). Finally, it should be noted that the relative value determines the voting power in the meeting of co-owners and serves in particular as a basis for calculation in the distribution of the co-owners of the common expenses.

Many co-ownerships have elevators because they are built vertically. Occupants who live there, especially those who are elderly or have reduced mobility, expect them to be in continuous operation. The syndicates of co-owners concerned are thus required to guarantee that the lifts are brought up to standard. Elevators must be kept in good working order, safety work must be carried out and the technical inspection of the elevator must be carried out according to the requirements of the Safety Code. If they are out of order, it could be the cause of serious inconvenience to the occupants, and the syndicate’s liability could be invoked.

The characteristic of divided co-ownership is to divide the building into various lots that will be the exclusive property of the co-owners (private portions), and for others that will be the property of all the co-owners (common portions). These lots are identified by an individual number, which was assigned during the cadastral operation. Each of the private lots of the co-ownership thus constituted becomes a unique property. The distinction between the common and private portions is essential, particularly from the point of view of maintenance, which is the responsibility of the syndicate of co-owners for the common portions and of the co-owners for the private portions.   

The Civil Code of Québec confers juridical personality on the community of co-owners. Article 1039 of the Civil Code of Quebec provides that as soon as the declaration of co-ownership is published, the community of co-owners constitutes a legal person called a syndicate of co-owners. Those duties and obligations are mainly aimed to ensure the preservation of the immovable, the administration of the common portions and the protection of the rights affecting the immovable or co-ownership, as well as all operations in the common interest. However, it is essential to understand them well because failure to comply with these duties and obligations towards a co-owner or a third party could lead to the civil liability of a syndicate.