Bareland Condominiums in Calgary

In Alberta, there are two types of condominiums: conventional condominiums and bare land condominiums.

Conventional condominiums are usually units located within a building.  If you own a unit, you have control over your unit within its walls. Most apartment style condos in high-rises and low-rises are considered conventional condominiums, as well as many townhomes.

Bare land condominiums are considered plots of land with structures on them. Therefore, townhomes can be considered either bare land condominiums or conventional condominiums. However, detached single family homes can also be bare land condominiums.

Detached single family homes as bare land condominiums

It is much less commonly known that bare land condominiums can actually be single family detached homes. If these detached single family homes are set up as condo structures, you have to pay condo fees, just like you would with an apartment-style unit. A good example of bare land condominiums that are detached single family homes is Elbow Valley West. But several communities in Calgary also have this bare land condo structure. Below this article you see all bare land condos as detached single family homes currently listed in Calgary.

As mentioned, with every condo structure you have to pay condo fees, whether it be a townhouse, an apartment or single family detached home. With this condo structure also come bylaws. These bylaws are extremely important because they have all the information about maintenance of the homes, the appearance, the architectural controls, but also about the common daily things such as snow shoveling, etc. Therefor, condo fees vary greatly, from a few hundred dollars per year to a few thousand dollars per year.

Common areas in (conventional) condo buildings are considered the lobby, the hallways, the elevators, roof, parkade, etc. Common areas in bare land condominiums can be sidewalks, roads and the clubhouse. In either case, the condo fees paid will go to maintenance of these common areas.

How to find out if it is conventional or bare land

To find out if a home is either conventional or bare land, you have to look at the condo plans. These condo plans can by requested via the Land Title Office. (At the Land Title Office, you can also pull title). Also, every bare land condo comes with an RPR, a real property report. Conventional condos don’t have an RPR, instead the Condominium Plans shows all the boundaries.

As mentioned, within Calgary, there are detached single family homes considered bare land condos. Here are some examples in the communities of McKenzie Lake, Tuscany, Discovery Ridge etc: