Apartment owners will have to pay $1.5 million to upgrade their buildings to a standard level

80 apartment owners in the Domaine de l’Observatoire, in the Loretteville area, in Quebec, will have to pay approximately $1.5 million to raise 8 buildings to the standard.

• Read also: The owners of the 48 apartments will have to vacate their poorly constructed buildings

After a routine inspection by firefighters in the summer of 2020, a notice of non-compliance was sent to the owners due to the lack of a second staircase allowing residents to be evacuated in the event of a fire.

“The Régie du bâtiment wakes up after 28 years to issue a notice of rectification,” drops Jack Chamberland, responsible actor and apartment owner.

The original plans for the buildings, built in 1992 by a now bankrupt company, were nonetheless approved by Quebec City and the Régie du bâtiment du Québec. But at the time of construction, the contractor did not respect it and neglected to install a second staircase.

The owners will now have to rectify the situation to comply with the standards of the Régie du bâtiment. Each will have to pay between $10,500 and $22,000, depending on the size of their apartment, to install balconies and doors that will be connected by a spiral staircase outside.

“After 29 years of building these blocks, we come to us with problems overnight. In the midst of shortages, in the midst of stagnation, we have no choice, and we have to pay,” says Micheline Saint Laurent, an apartment owner.

The president of the Association of Quebec Managers and Joint Owners regrets the lack of control until very recently during the construction of buildings in the province.

It could have been avoided from the very beginning of building construction. For decades in Quebec, we have been building without carrying out any quality control. This is just as true in the apartment sector, where promoters are left to their own devices…”, confirms Me Yves Jolicoeur.

These businesses represent a significant expense for residents, some of whom are on low incomes.

“At the end of the day, it is the current co-owners who pay the bill and the real question is: can they afford it?” Mr Jolicour asks.

Four other buildings on the Domaine de l’Observatoire, which are even smaller, will not have to add an extra staircase. These are managed by the city and not by the Régie du bâtiment and are not subject to the same standards as other buildings in the condominium.