A parcel of tied land (POTL) is a freehold lot — often a townhome — whose owner also automatically belongs to a “common elements condominium” corporation that owns and maintains shared amenities serving the wider development.
The Condominium Authority of Ontario describes four types of freehold condo corporation. Standard is “The most common type of condo corporation in Ontario”, with individual units plus shared spaces like foyers and amenities. Phased corporations are built and added to over time. Vacant Land corporations resemble a subdivision, with owners holding unbuilt lots at purchase and shared private roads and infrastructure. Common Elements is the POTL structure itself: “There are no units in this type of condo corporation, only common elements which are shared by owners of parcels of tied land (POTL).”
That last point is the practical trap for a buyer expecting an ordinary freehold: a POTL owner holds title to their own lot, exactly like a standard freehold purchase, but the lot is still tied to a condo corporation that owns the shared infrastructure — and that means the same common expenses obligations, rules and governance that apply to any other condo owner.
A buyer purchasing a townhome advertised simply as “freehold” discovers on review that it is actually a POTL. The buyer will hold title to the lot itself, with no condo unit registered on the home — but a separate common-elements corporation owns the development's private road and visitor parking, and the buyer will owe that corporation monthly common expenses and be bound by its rules, obligations an ordinary, non-POTL freehold buyer would never take on. Because the buyer is joining a condo corporation, the same status certificate request that applies to any condo purchase applies here too.
See also: Common expenses · Status certificate
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