Hiring a manager for a small condo in Quebec: what it really costs, and the other options

Short answer. In Quebec, a management firm advertises 33 to 40 dollars per unit per month for full management, with a monthly minimum that weighs heavily on a small building: at multiRent, at least 210 dollars a month, plus a 450 dollar sign-up fee. For six units, full management comes to 2,664 dollars a year before taxes. No licence is required to do this job. A manager makes sense when nobody is left to do the work, not because the building is small or large. Prices noted on October 26, 2026.

The quote that arrives on a Tuesday

The treasurer announces they are selling in the spring. Nobody around the table wants to take over the cheques, the statements and the reminders. Someone suggests calling a management firm, and the quote arrives a week later: a price per unit, a monthly minimum, a set-up fee, and a list of services "outside the mandate" in an appendix.

The board now has two questions. Is it a good price? And what exactly are we buying? The second one matters more, and it is the one the quote almost never answers.

What a manager does, and what they do not

The Civil Code puts it in one sentence: the day-to-day administration of the syndicate may be entrusted to a manager, who may or may not be a co-owner, and who acts as an administrator of the property of others charged with simple administration (art. 1085 C.C.Q.).

Simple administration means preserving the building and keeping it in use, collecting the common expenses and other revenue, and paying what has to be paid. It is execution work. Decisions stay with the board, and those that belong to the meeting stay with the meeting. A manager does not replace the board: they do the work the board hands them, and the board remains the one that answers to the co-owners.

The same part of the Code gives the manager precise duties. They act with prudence and diligence, honesty and loyalty, in the syndicate's interest. They must not put themselves in a conflict of interest, and they must disclose without delay any interest they hold in a business that could put them in one: the roofer owned by the manager's brother-in-law, for example. They must not mix the syndicate's money with their own (art. 1313 C.C.Q.). And they render a summary account of their administration at least once a year (art. 1351 C.C.Q.).

One point often reassures boards: the insurance the syndicate is required to carry covers the liability of the board members, and also that of the manager (art. 1073 C.C.Q.).

What it costs: two published price lists

Most firms do not publish their prices. Two do, and they are the only figures in this article you can check.

multiRent (Montreal, South Shore and North Shore, price list in effect since September 10, 2026): 10 dollars per unit per month for financial management, 27 dollars for administrative management, 37 dollars for full management, before taxes. Each package includes the previous one. The floor is 210 dollars a month, whatever the package, and sign-up costs 450 dollars once. Contracts run one year, renewable, for 5 to 200 units.

Gestion Velora (Montreal): generally 33 to 36 dollars per unit per month depending on the mandate, up to 40 dollars with portals and integrations. The page gives no minimum and no set-up fee.

Here is what multiRent's price list gives for full management, before taxes and without the sign-up fee:

Two things stand out. Below six units, the floor sets the price, and each unit pays more. And financial management alone costs no less than the floor at that size: at 10 dollars a unit, it takes twenty-two units to go past 210 dollars a month.

Below five units, this price list does not apply at all. That is common: some firms do not take very small buildings.

Three ways to organize

Self-management with the right tools. The board does the work itself, with a written calendar, shared roles and one single place for the documents and the accounts. It is the norm in small buildings, and the guide to running a small volunteer board walks through its calendar month by month.

Partial management. A firm keeps the books, the board keeps the rest. It is often the task nobody wants, and the one that exposes the board most when it is badly kept. Just remember that in a small building, the monthly minimum brings its price close to full management.

Full management. The firm collects, pays, sends reminders, follows up with providers and prepares the meeting. The board decides and oversees. It is the right choice when nobody is willing or able to carry the load any more, when a large project is coming, or when the board is too divided to function.

What the contract must say

Before signing, check that the contract answers these seven questions. If it does not answer one of them, ask for it to be added.

1. What is included and what is billed separately, with the rate for each: special meeting, documents for a sale, follow-up of work, mailings.
2. The monthly minimum and the set-up fee, written in dollars.
3. Bank accounts in the syndicate's name, never in the firm's name, with board access to the statements.
4. Accountability: an account at least once a year, and access to supporting documents whenever the board asks.
5. Disclosure of interests: any link between the firm and a provider it recommends.
6. The way out: the term, the notice period, and what is owed if the contract ends early. The syndicate can replace its manager; it then owes them the share of fees already earned.
7. The end of the mandate: a final account detailed enough to be checked (art. 1363 C.C.Q.), and the handover of every document, key and amount received.

Warning signs

Quebec requires no licence to manage a condo: the Civil Code lets the syndicate choose its manager, co-owner or not. The Ordre des administrateurs agréés already regretted it in December 2019, when Bill 16 was adopted. A manager who belongs to that professional order must carry professional liability insurance and take continuing education, and the order keeps a compensation fund for money a member might misuse. Others are not necessarily.

Hence the importance of recognising the signs the board should react to:

• expenses without a detailed invoice, or invoices bundled together without the provider's name;
• no annual account, or an account the accountant cannot reconcile with the bank statements;
• a bank account in the firm's name;
• always the same providers, with no quotes and no disclosure of interest;
• a contract with no way out, or end-of-mandate fees that hold the syndicate in place.

One of these signs proves nothing on its own. Two or three justify a written question to the manager, and a written answer.

The honest calculation: when a manager makes sense

The size of the building does not decide alone. A six-unit building may need a manager, and a thirty-unit building may do perfectly well without one. What decides is the question of people: is there someone around the table who keeps the accounts, and someone who follows the maintenance, for the long run?

If the answer is yes, what a manager costs mostly buys comfort, and the building's budget can go elsewhere, to the contingency fund for example. If the answer is no, and has been for several months, a manager is no longer a luxury: a syndicate whose accounts nobody keeps takes a risk far more expensive than the price in the table.

In between, the answer is often to lighten the load rather than hand it over: a tool that keeps the accounts, the due dates and the documents in one place makes the treasurer's job manageable for a volunteer.

What your board can do this week

1. Write down the list of tasks for the year and, next to each one, the name of the person who handles it. The empty boxes tell you whether you need help, and what kind.
2. Ask for two written quotes, with the monthly minimum, the set-up fee and the list of services outside the package.
3. Check each quote against the seven questions in the contract section, and note the missing answers.
4. If you stay self-managed, name now the person who will take over the accounts if the treasurer leaves, and have them sit in on the next year-end.

What Kohabit does

Kohabit is made for boards without a manager. If you have one, they can have their own access, but it was not built for them. Kohabit keeps assessments, payments received, reminders, the maintenance log and the documents in one place, for 2.99 dollars per door per month. It does not do the work for you: when you really need a manager, hire a manager.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a manager cost for a small condo in Quebec?

Firms that publish their prices advertise 33 to 40 dollars per unit per month for full management, before taxes. In a small building, the monthly minimum decides: at multiRent, at least 210 dollars a month, plus a 450 dollar sign-up fee. Six units therefore come to 2,664 dollars a year before taxes.

Is a small condo required to have a manager?

No. The syndicate may entrust its day-to-day administration to a manager, but nothing requires it to. Self-management by a board of co-owners is legal and remains the norm in small buildings.

Does a condo manager need a licence?

No. No licence is required in Quebec to manage a condo. A manager who belongs to the Ordre des administrateurs agréés must carry professional liability insurance and take continuing education.

Can we change managers before the contract ends?

Yes. The syndicate can replace its manager; it then owes them the share of fees already earned, and the manager must render a final account and hand over everything they received. Read the termination clause before signing: that is where the notice period and the fees are.

Sources

• Civil Code of Québec, arts. 1073 and 1085 (divided co-ownership), on LégisQuébec
• Civil Code of Québec, arts. 1299, 1301, 1302, 1309, 1310, 1311, 1312 and 1313 (administration of the property of others), on LégisQuébec
• Civil Code of Québec, arts. 1351, 1360, 1363, 1366 and 1367 (accounts, replacement and end of administration), on LégisQuébec
• multiRent, pricing page (price list in effect since September 10, 2026), consulted on October 26, 2026
• Gestion Velora, "Coût d'un gestionnaire de copropriété à Montréal", consulted on October 26, 2026
• Ordre des administrateurs agréés du Québec, press release of December 9, 2019 on the adoption of Bill 16

Text of the articles consulted on October 26, 2026.

Written by Ben, founder of Kohabit and a volunteer board member of his own condo. This article is informational and does not replace legal advice.