Condo Building Snow Removal Checklist for Boards and Managers

A condo building needs a snow plan that covers more than the parking lot. The checklist below walks through the parts boards and managers most often leave out of the contract: entrances and emergency exits, garage ramps, visitor parking, moving residents' cars, ice falling from the roof, and access for waste collection. Settle each item before the first storm, put it in writing, and keep the records all season.

Condos are harder to clear than an office or a store. People leave at 6 a.m. and come home at midnight, cars sit in the lot during the storm, and dozens of owners each have an opinion about the result. A clear scope protects the board and keeps complaints down.

Who is responsible for what

Start by reading your declaration of co-ownership (or, in Ontario and most other provinces, the condo declaration and bylaws). In Quebec, the syndicate administers the common portions of the building. In Ontario, the Condominium Act, 1998 gives the corporation the duty to maintain the common elements. Either way, the shared parking lot, walkways, entrances and ramps are usually the corporation's job.

The grey areas are the ones that cause disputes:

• Balconies and terraces. These are often common portions reserved for one unit's use. Many declarations make the owner responsible for clearing them. Check, then tell owners in writing.
• Assigned parking spaces. Some buildings clear every space, others clear only the aisles and leave owners to clear around their own car. Decide which and say so.
• Private entrances of townhouse-style units. Steps and landings that serve one unit may or may not be in the contractor's scope.

Write the answer to each point in the contract and in the notice you send owners before the season.

Pre-season site walk

Walk the property with your contractor in October or early November, while you can still see the ground. Bring a site plan and mark it up together.

• Mark curbs, fire hydrants, drains, speed bumps, garden edges and low walls with stakes or reflectors.
• Identify where snow will be piled. Piles should not block sight lines at the exit, cover drains, sit against the building, or take visitor spaces.
• Note fire exits, fire department connections and hydrants that must stay clear at all times.
• Check the garage ramp drain and trench drains. A blocked drain at the bottom of a ramp freezes into an ice sheet.
• Look up at the roof edges, canopies and balconies over walkways. Mark where icicles and snow slides could fall on people.
• Find the waste and recycling bin area and the path the collection truck takes.
• Note mailboxes, whether in the lobby or a community mailbox outside, and the path to them.

Walkways, entrances and exits

These matter most because people fall on them, not on the lot.

• Main entrance, lobby doors and the path to the sidewalk.
• Every emergency exit door and the path from it to a safe area. Fire codes require exits to stay usable, and a snowbank against an exit door is a common inspection finding.
• Steps and ramps, including the accessible ramp. Clear the full width, not just a shovel path.
• Paths to the bin area, the mailboxes and any visitor parking.

Specify how the contractor treats ice on these surfaces (salt, a salt and sand mix, or a product that is gentler on concrete and pavers), and whether they come back to re-treat after a freeze-thaw cycle. Interlocking pavers and new concrete in the first winter often need a gentler product, so name it in the contract.

Garage ramps and underground parking

Ramps are the highest-risk surface on most condo sites. They are sloped, they collect meltwater, and cars use them at all hours.

• Clear and treat the ramp first on every visit.
• If the ramp is heated, confirm with the building whether the system works before the season, and tell the contractor not to use steel blades on it.
• Keep the trench drain at the bottom clear of snow and ice.
• Decide whether the contractor clears the strip of the garage floor just inside the door, where cars track in slush.

Moving residents' cars

This is the item that generates the most complaints. A plow cannot clear a space with a car in it, and the lot will never be fully clean if cars stay put.

• Agree on a cleanup pass. The contractor clears the aisles during the storm, then comes back later (often mid-morning on a weekday) to clear spaces once most cars are gone.
• Choose how owners are told: a notice in the lobby, an email list, a text alert from management.
• Decide what happens with cars that never move. Most buildings accept that those spaces stay partly cleared rather than towing.
• Keep visitor parking clear so residents have somewhere to park during the cleanup pass.

For more on how the snow depth that triggers a visit affects a lot like this, see our guide to trigger depth for commercial parking lots.

Roof snow and falling ice

Snow and ice coming off a roof, a canopy or a row of balconies can injure someone walking below. This is the corporation's issue to manage even if the plow contractor never touches the roof.

• Identify the danger zones during the site walk and cone them off or rope them when icicles form.
• Decide who removes icicles over entrances and who clears snow from flat roofs when loads build up. This is often a separate roofing or specialized service, not the plow crew.
• Keep a record of when danger zones were marked and when ice was removed.

Waste collection and deliveries

Collection trucks need a cleared path and a turning area. If the bin area is blocked, pickup is often missed and the bins overflow.

• Put the collection day in the contract so the contractor clears that path before the truck arrives.
• Keep the fire lane and the delivery area at the front door clear.

The contract and the records

Before signing, make sure the contract states:

• The trigger depth for a visit and the target time to have the site open (for example, ramps and entrances by a set hour on weekday mornings).
• Which surfaces are in scope, with the site plan attached.
• How ice is treated on each surface, and the re-treatment rule.
• Whether hauling is included when there is no more room to pile snow.
• How the contractor reports each visit: time on site, surfaces cleared, product applied.

Visit logs protect the corporation if a resident or visitor makes a claim after a fall. In Ontario, the Occupiers' Liability Act requires written notice within 60 days for most slip and fall claims caused by snow or ice, which our Ontario 60-day notice guide explains. Good records help in any province.

Frequently asked questions

Is the condo board responsible for clearing balconies?

It depends on the declaration. Balconies are often common portions reserved for one unit's use, and many declarations make the owner of that unit responsible for clearing them. Read the declaration, then send owners a written notice before the season so there is no confusion.

Should a condo snow contract include clearing each parking space?

It can, but only if cars are moved. A practical approach is to clear the aisles during the storm and schedule a cleanup pass for the spaces once most residents have left. Say in the contract whether spaces are included and how many cleanup passes each storm gets.

How early should a condo parking lot be cleared in the morning?

Many residents leave between 6 and 8 a.m. on weekdays, so the garage ramp, the main exit and the entrances should be open before then. Set a target time in the contract and ask the contractor how they plan to meet it during an overnight storm.

Who clears snow from the roof of a condo building?

Roof snow and icicle removal is usually a separate service from parking lot clearing and often needs a roofing or specialized crew with fall protection. The corporation should arrange it and mark danger zones below the roof edges while it waits.

Get a snow plan for your building

Terranova handles commercial snow clearing for condo and multi-residential buildings, with Greater Montréal and Laval as home base (see our Laval service area) and sites across Canada and the US. Send your site plan and the items above through our quote form and we'll put together a scope and quote for the season.