The client
A newcomer buyer purchased a $365,000 condominium unit in Saint-Hyacinthe, planning to finance a storage locker separately and eventually resell it on its own.
Purchase price
$365,000, Saint-Hyacinthe
10% down, insured, unit and locker together
Storage locker
No separate cadastral lot number
A common portion for restricted use, attached to the unit
Buyer’s own income
$7,400/month
Documented employment income
Other debt
$210/mo car loan
The problem
The buyer, new to Canada and unfamiliar with how Quebec’s civil-law co-ownership regime differs from a common-law province’s condominium structure, assumed the locker was a distinct piece of property they would own outright — the reverse of the separately-titled parking-unit problem an Ontario buyer might face. Under the declaration de copropriete governing this building, the locker is designated a common portion for restricted use attached to this specific unit, not a private portion carrying its own cadastral lot number.
What the declaration de copropriete actually said
- ▸The locker has no cadastral lot number of its own; it exists only as a common portion whose use is restricted to this unit
- ▸A common portion for restricted use has no independent legal existence a notary can transfer or a lender can register a hypothec against on its own
- ▸Selling or financing the locker separately from the unit is not a paperwork inconvenience — the declaration simply does not permit it
The buyer’s plan to eventually sell the locker on its own was never going to work, no matter how the paperwork was arranged, because there was never a separate asset there to sell.
The numbers
Qualifying the unit and its attached locker together as the single property they legally are was the only version of this file that could ever close.
| The insured purchase, unit and locker as one property | Amount |
|---|---|
| Purchase price | $365,000 |
| Down payment (10%) | $36,500 |
| CMHC premium (3.10% at 90% LTV) | +$10,184 |
| Total insured mortgage | $338,684 |
| Ratio check at the qualifying rate | Figure |
|---|---|
| Payment at the qualifying rate (7.05%), 25 years | $2,383/mo |
| GDS (payment + $280 tax + $110 heat) ÷ $7,400 income | 37.5% |
| TDS (GDS numerator + $210 car loan) ÷ $7,400 income | 40.3% |
37.5% and 40.3% sit comfortably inside CMHC’s 39% GDS and 44% TDS maximums — there was never a separate figure to isolate for the locker, because there was never a separate asset for one to attach to. The down payment itself was sized entirely around the unit, consistent with down payment statistics for insured newcomer purchases.
The solution
A courtier hypothecaire licensed under Quebec’s Act respecting the distribution of financial products and services relied on the declaration itself, rather than on how the buyer had described the locker.
First, had the notary confirm directly from the declaration de copropriete that the locker carries no cadastral lot number of its own. The declaration, not the listing or the buyer’s own assumption, is the document that actually settles the question.
Second, explained to the buyer, in plain terms, why the locker cannot be sold, financed, or pledged as collateral independent of the unit. A common-law-province instinct about separately-owned parking or storage does not transfer directly onto Quebec’s divided co-ownership rules.
Third, priced and registered the hypothec against the unit and its attached locker as the single property they are, rather than attempting to carve out a value or a security interest for the locker on its own.
The outcome
The purchase funded insured at 37.5% GDS and 40.3% TDS, with the unit and its attached locker registered and financed as the single property they legally are.
Both ratios sit comfortably inside CMHC’s 39% GDS and 44% TDS maximums. Quebec’s welcome tax on the $365,000 purchase came to $3,586, calculated on the unit and locker together.
What to take from this file
- 01A common portion for restricted use is not a private portion. Under Quebec’s declaration de copropriete regime, a locker or similar space attached to a unit can carry no cadastral lot number of its own, and cannot be sold or financed apart from the unit.
- 02This is the mirror image of a separately-titled parking unit in a common-law province. Do not assume the same paperwork or the same ownership structure applies just because both involve a condominium and a parking or storage space.
- 03Read the declaration de copropriete itself, not the listing. Only the declaration says whether a given space is a private portion or a common portion for restricted use.
- 04Set expectations with a newcomer buyer early about what Quebec’s co-ownership rules actually allow. A plan built on owning and reselling a locker separately needs to be corrected before an offer goes in, not after.
Sources
Every regulatory figure in this file traces to one of these primary sources. Client details and anything that varies by lender are illustrative, as flagged below.
- ▸CMHC — Purchase (Mortgage Loan Insurance) — default-insurance premium schedule by LTV band (25-year amortization).
- ▸CMHC — CMHC Home Start — minimum down payment tiers (5%/10%) and the $1.5M insured price cap.
- ▸OSFI — Minimum qualifying rate for uninsured mortgages — the minimum qualifying rate — greater of contract rate + 2% or 5.25%.
- ▸CMHC — CMHC Reviews Underwriting Criteria — GDS 39% / TDS 44% maximums and the 600 credit-score floor for insured files.
- ▸Provincial/territorial mortgage-broker legislation fetched directly (bclaws.gov.bc.ca, legisquebec.gouv.qc.ca, fcaa.gov.sk.ca, web2.gov.mb.ca, nslegislature.ca, assembly.nl.ca) plus FCNB's own site for NB and CanLII's index for PE — see notes for per-province method — provincial mortgage regulators and licence titles.
- ▸Gouvernement du Québec — Droits sur les mutations immobilières — Quebec's transfer duties ('welcome tax') — 2026 indexed brackets.
Illustrative in this file — lender-specific, not rules:
- ▸5.05% contract rate — rates move daily; not a quote.
Authority & provenance
How this case file was built
We publish the origin, the verification method and the reviewer for every case file, so you can judge how far to trust it before you rely on it with a client.
Where it comes from
Derived from files handled by Treadstone’s fulfillment desk and from scenarios contributed by partner brokerages. Names, employers, exact amounts and dates are changed so no client or file is identifiable.
Provenance: Composite — a pattern seen repeatedly on fulfilled files, not a single transaction.
What is verified
Every regulatory figure traces to a primary source listed above and was checked against it on the date shown. The arithmetic is recomputed by machine on every rebuild.
Anything that varies by lender is labelled illustrative rather than stated as a rule.
Who reviewed it
Reviewed for Canadian regulatory accuracy before publication, and re-checked whenever a cited rule changes.
Reviewed by: Nicholas Parson, Treadstone Associates — reviews every case file before publication.
This case file is professional reference material for licensed mortgage professionals. It is not advice to a borrower, and it is not a lender commitment. Insurer rules, qualifying rates and provincial taxes change — confirm the current position with the insurer, regulator or lender before you rely on any figure here in a live file.