Alberta's reserve study clock

Alberta condo corporations must renew their reserve fund study at least every five years. The typical study is about two and a half years old, about one in seven has passed the five-year mark, and about half of the older ones already have the next study underway.

In Alberta, the reserve fund study is the document that decides what a condo saves. A third-party provider inspects the property, lists every component that will need repair or replacement over the next thirty years, prices it, and projects what the reserve fund should hold. The board then approves a reserve fund plan built on that study, and owners get a copy before the plan takes effect. [1] The regulation asks for a new study at least every five years. [1] [2] We took 150+ samples drawn from our pool of Alberta condo reviews and asked a simple question of each one: how old was the study when the latest meeting minutes were written?

Most studies are in the middle of the cycle

At the date of the latest minutes, the median Alberta study was about 2.5 years old, with the middle half of corporations between about 1.4 and 4.1 years. About 19% of studies were under a year old, about 20% one to two years old and about 24% two to three. The share then falls away: about 13% were three to four years old, about 12% four to five, and about 14% five years or older. So about 86% of Alberta corporations were inside the five-year window on the date their latest minutes describe, and about one in seven was past it.

That is roughly the shape of a five-year cycle in which some corporations start the next study close to the deadline. A study takes months from the first quote to the final report, so a corporation that starts at year five will usually show a study older than five years while the new one is being written.

The next study is usually already moving

Looking at the status of the study rather than its date, about 81% of Alberta corporations simply have a completed study on file. About 11% have a new study in progress, about 5% are collecting quotes and about 2% are discussing one. Those last three groups sit almost entirely at the old end of the cycle. Among corporations whose last study was four or more years old, about 54% already had the next one in progress, out for quotes or under discussion. Among the rest, about 7% did.

Among Alberta studies four or more years old, about half already have the next one in progress, out for quotes or on the board's agenda.

Calgary runs a little fresher than Edmonton

The two big cities differ. In Calgary the median study was about 2.2 years old at the latest minutes, with the middle half between about 1.1 and 3.1 years, and about 7% were five years or older. In Edmonton the median was about 2.9 years, the middle half between about 1.5 and 4.5, and about one study in five was five years or older. Both cities answer to the same regulation; the difference is in timing, not in whether a study exists.

What the study turns into

The study's output that owners feel is the yearly transfer from the operating budget into the reserve fund. In the latest approved Alberta budgets, the median corporation sets aside about $1,500 per unit per year for the reserve, with the middle half between about $940 and $2,100. That transfer is about 26% of the median operating budget, with the middle half between about 16% and 34%, which makes it one of the largest lines owners pay for. The median reserve fund balance is about $6,000 per unit, with the middle half between about $3,400 and $9,700.

The contribution does not drift much with the age of the study. Corporations whose study was under two and a half years old budget a median of about $1,550 per unit for the reserve; those with an older study budget about $1,580. The size of the jump, if any, shows up when the next study lands, which is why the year of a new study is the one to read most closely.

What to do with this

• If you are buying in Alberta: ask for the reserve fund study and the approved reserve fund plan, not just the balance. Check the completion date. A study four or more years old means a new one is close, and the minutes will usually say whether it is underway.

• If you own a unit: the annual reserve fund report in the AGM package shows how the corporation is tracking against the plan. [1] Compare the contribution in the budget with the one the plan calls for.

• If you sit on a board: quotes, site visits and a draft review take months. Starting in year four keeps the study inside the five-year window.

How we counted. Based on 150+ samples drawn from our pool of Alberta condo reviews. Figures come from the reserve fund study references, meeting minutes and approved operating budgets in those samples, mostly 2021 to 2026. Study age runs from the completion date of the most recent study to the date of the latest minutes. Reserve contributions are the transfer to the reserve fund in each corporation's latest approved whole-corporation budget, divided by its unit count. Figures are medians and the middle half (p25 to p75) or shares of corporations, rounded. No building is identified. If you use these figures, a link back to this post is appreciated.

Further reading

1. Reserve funds, Government of Alberta

2. Reserve Fund Guide, Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta