Average Condo Fees in Calgary

What condo fees pay for

Your monthly condo fee (officially a "contribution") is your share of the cost of running the building. In a typical Calgary apartment condo it covers:

• Building insurance for the structure and common property — often one of the largest line items, and one that hail has pushed up in Calgary (see hail and condo insurance).
• Common-area maintenance: cleaning, snow removal, landscaping, elevators, mechanical systems and repairs.
• Utilities for shared spaces, and in many buildings heat and water for your unit too. Electricity is usually billed separately.
• Property management and the condo corporation's professional fees (audit, legal, accounting).
• Reserve fund contributions — savings for big replacements such as roofs, windows, elevators and parkade membranes.

Not included: your own contents and liability insurance, in-suite repairs, electricity (usually), internet and property tax.

Average condo fees in Calgary

Neither the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB®) nor the City of Calgary publishes an official average condo fee, so the most useful comparison is a building's fee per square foot and what it includes. Global News, quoting local condo professionals in May 2026, put Alberta condo fees at roughly 50 cents to $1 a square foot a month, and reported some buildings facing increases of around 10% (single source).

Patterns are typical, not guaranteed. Compare buildings fee-for-fee only after checking what each fee includes. Our condo calculators compare two buildings' fees per square foot.

How your share is set: unit factors

Fees are not split evenly. Each unit in an Alberta condominium has a unit factor, set out in the condo plan, and the unit factors of all units add up to 10,000. Your share of the corporation's budget is your unit factor divided by 10,000. Larger units — and penthouses — usually carry larger unit factors, so they pay more.

The unit factor also weighs your vote on some decisions and your share of any special assessment, so it is worth noting when you compare units in the same building.

Why condo fees go up

• Insurance: building premiums and deductibles have risen sharply across Alberta, and Calgary's record hail losses are part of the reason.
• Reserve fund study updates: Alberta requires a reserve fund study and plan, updated every five years. A new study often raises the contribution the building needs.
• Aging components: as roofs, windows and elevators near the end of their lives, repair costs climb.
• Utility and labour costs: especially in buildings where heat and water are included.
• Developer budgets: first-year fees in a new building are an estimate and often rise once real costs are known.

How to tell if a building's fees are fair

A low fee is not automatically a good deal — it can mean an underfunded reserve and a special assessment later. Ask for, and compare:

1. Fee per square foot, not just the monthly number.
2. What's included — heat and water can be worth a lot over a Calgary winter.
3. Fee history over the last 3–5 years. Steady, modest increases are healthy; sudden jumps signal catch-up.
4. The reserve fund balance vs. the reserve fund plan. Is the building on track?
5. The insurance certificate — especially hail, water and flood deductibles that could be charged back to you.
6. Minutes and upcoming projects — see our condo document review guide.

Condo move-in fees and moving rules in Calgary

For the full rules, see our guide to condo move-in fees in Calgary.

Some Calgary condo boards charge a move-in or move-out fee, ask for a damage deposit, or require you to book the elevator for your move. Alberta's Condominium Property Act does not set or cap move-in fees: each condo corporation decides through its own bylaws and board rules, so the amount and the process vary from building to building. Global News, reporting on Calgary condos in 2016, described boards charging these fees to cover wear and tear, security and elevator bookings.

• Bylaws bind everyone in the unit, owners and tenants alike (Act s.32). Board rules, often called policies, must be reasonable and take effect 30 days after written notice (Act s.32.1; Regulation s.73.6).
• Fines are limited. A corporation can fine you only for breaking a bylaw, not a board rule, and fines are capped at $500 for a first breach (Regulation ss.73.8–73.81).
• Moving damage is recovered through a chargeback. If its bylaws allow it, the corporation can bill the owner for damage to hallways or elevators. The charge is limited to the actual repair cost or the corporation's insurance deductible, whichever is less, and the owner gets notice and a chance to respond (Act s.39.01, in force since February 2026).

Before moving day: ask the property manager for the building's moving rules and any fees in writing (owners and buyers can request the bylaws and rules, which the corporation must provide within 10 days under Act s.44), book the elevator early, and if a moving truck or storage container will sit on a City street, check the City of Calgary's street use permit rules (a permit is needed to place a moving container or bin on a City road, or to reserve curb space for a move) or call 311.

How condo fees affect your mortgage

Lenders count condo fees when they work out how much you can borrow. Under CMHC's mortgage insurance rules, half of the monthly condo fee is included in your debt-service ratios, alongside your mortgage payment, property tax and heat. A higher fee can therefore reduce the mortgage you qualify for — worth knowing before you fall for a building with a $900 fee.