A chargeback is when a condo corporation adds a cost — a repair it completed on an owner's behalf, an insurance deductible after that owner caused damage, or a compliance award — onto that one owner's fees instead of spreading it across every unit, under section 92 of the Condominium Act.
The Condominium Authority of Ontario defines it in one sentence: "A condominium corporation may charge costs back to an owner through condo fees because of something that owner did or didn't do", and names "Section 92 of the Act" as the statutory basis.
The CAO lists several situations this covers: the corporation completing repairs or maintenance on behalf of an owner; damage a unit causes, where the corporation charges the owner "the cost of the repair or the condo corporation's insurance deductible limit – whichever is less"; occupancy-limit breaches, where owners face repair costs or extra utility expenses; and damages and costs obtained at court or the CAT, including legal fees.
If the owner doesn't pay, enforcement is the same tool as ordinary arrears: "their condo corporation automatically has a lien against the owner's unit to recoup the debt". And a chargeback dispute only reaches the CAT if it is tied to something already inside the tribunal's list — see the CAT and what it can decide — a pets or parking chargeback qualifies, a plain repair chargeback generally does not.
A Toronto owner's dishwasher supply line fails and floods two units below. The corporation pays for the repair and files an insurance claim; the policy carries a $25,000 deductible. Under section 92, the corporation charges the owner whichever is less — the actual repair cost or the deductible — instead of spreading a $25,000 hit across every unit's fees. When the owner misses the payment deadline, the corporation registers a lien on the unit exactly as it would for unpaid monthly common expenses.
See also: The CAT and what it can decide · The status certificate package.
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