Condos were created in Ontario by the Condominium Act in 1967; the legislation has changed many times, and the most recent version is the Condominium Act, 1998, which was passed in (naturally) 2001. There has been some talk of some updates recently, but the legislation is still substantially the same as it was ten years ago.
In a nutshell, a condominium is a system of property ownership that involves the division of property into units that are individually owned, common elements that are owned in common by the owners of all units and an administrative framework that enables the owners to manage the property for all owners’ benefit. There is no standard list of amenities that are to be provided; each building (or series of buildings) is set up individually, with some having a wide variety of amenities and some as simple as outdoor maintenance.
There are many different types condos, as well. Most people immediately think of a tower or pair of towers, but there are also townhouses as well as low-rise buildings. What matters is the type of ownership, not the type of building.
