"I do not want to pay condo fees."
I hear it constantly, and I understand the instinct. But it is worth unpacking, because the choice between freehold and condo is not really about whether you pay for a roof. It is about how you pay for it and how much control you want.
The direct answer
Condo: predictable monthly cost, less control, less work. Freehold: full control, no monthly fee, and every major expense lands on you at once whenever it decides to arrive.
Neither is cheaper in some universal way. They are different ways of paying for the same physical reality.
What condo fees actually buy
Here is the part I want to be fair about, because condo fees have a bad reputation they only partly deserve.
A condominium corporation is not a business trying to make money off you. It is not marking anything up. Its job is to collect what the property costs to run, pay those bills, manage the shared parts, and set money aside for future repairs. That is the whole mandate.
What the fees typically cover:
- Building insurance for the structure and common elements
- Exterior maintenance, including the roof, windows, and the brick or siding
- Grounds keeping, meaning lawn care and landscaping
- Snow removal from walkways, driveways, and private roads
- The reserve fund, which is the savings account for big future work
What they do not cover is everything inside your own walls, and your own insurance policy.
Now think about what a freehold owner pays
The freehold owner does not escape those costs. They just meet them differently.
Roofs need replacing. Windows fail. Driveways crack. Siding ages out. None of that is cheap, and none of it arrives on a schedule that suits you. It shows up as a single large bill, usually at an inconvenient moment.
The condo owner has been quietly paying into that all along, and when the roof goes, it is handled.
So the honest comparison is not "fees versus no fees." It is a predictable monthly amount versus an unpredictable large one. Which of those you prefer is a genuine personality and cash flow question, and there is no wrong answer.
Two caveats, because I said I would be fair in both directions. Condo fees do tend to rise over time, since insurance, utilities, and labour all rise. And you are paying into shared amenities whether you use the gym and the party room or not.
The real tradeoff is control
This is the part that decides it for most people.
With a condo, the corporation makes decisions about the exterior, the grounds, and the shared systems. That means you do not have to organize a roof replacement, and it also means you do not get to choose the shingles. The rules can reach further than buyers expect, right down to what you can put on your balcony and whether you can change your own front door.
With a freehold, it is all yours. Paint it what you like, renovate what you want, park where you please, within municipal rules. And every bit of the maintenance, organizing, and paying is also yours.
Some people find condo rules restrictive. Others find them a relief.
The third option nobody explains: POTL
Here is one that comes up constantly in newer townhouse developments and confuses almost everybody.
POTL stands for parcel of tied land. You own your home and your lot freehold, with your own title, just like any other house. But that ownership is tied to a share in a common elements condominium corporation that owns the shared bits of the development, most often the private roads.
Why does that exist? Because in many newer developments the city never assumed the internal roads. If the municipality does not own them, the municipality does not maintain them, plow them, or repair them. So the corporation does, and the owners fund it.
That is what the fee pays for. It is usually much smaller than full condo fees, because it covers roads, snow clearing, visitor parking, and sometimes garbage or landscaping, rather than an entire building envelope. If the development includes real amenities like a clubhouse or a pool, the fee will be higher accordingly.
Two things to know:
- You cannot sell the home separately from the share. They are tied, permanently.
- It is genuinely freehold ownership of your house. A POTL townhouse is a different thing from a condo townhouse, even though they can look identical from the street.
That last point matters when you are comparing two listings that seem similar. A freehold townhouse, a POTL townhouse, and a condo townhouse are three different ownership structures with three different fee pictures, and the listing will not always make it obvious. Ask.
Who each one tends to suit
A condo often fits buyers who want predictable costs, who travel or are away often, who do not want to organize maintenance, who are downsizing, or who want a location that freehold cannot deliver at the same price.
Freehold often fits buyers who want maximum control, who plan to renovate, who want land, who are handy or happy to project manage, and who would rather absorb a big bill occasionally than a fee every month.
POTL often fits buyers who want freehold ownership and a newer home, and are comfortable with a small monthly fee for roads and snow in exchange for it.
And when you are comparing, look at the whole picture: the fee, what it includes, and what a freehold equivalent would realistically cost you per year in maintenance and eventual replacements.
The takeaway
Condo fees are not wasted money, and freehold is not free. One turns your housing costs into a predictable monthly line. The other gives you control and hands you the bills as they come.
Before you rule out a category, get clear on what you are actually comparing, and read the status certificate carefully if you go the condo route, since that is where fee health and increases actually show up.
If you are weighing these against each other for a specific budget and neighbourhood, that is a conversation worth having properly. Sometimes the answer surprises people, and I would rather you land in the right structure than the one you assumed you wanted. Here is how a condo purchase actually unfolds if that is the direction you are leaning.