If you are buying a home in Calgary, you will hear “HOA fee” used for three different charges. One is a fee an association has registered against the home’s title. One is a City tax that shows up on the property tax bill. One is a community association membership that nobody has to buy.
A home can carry more than one of them. The amounts are small next to the price of the house. Before you write an offer, find out which of them the home has, what each costs this year, and whether the seller’s account is paid up.
The short version
- Read the title. A residents or homeowners association fee is registered there as an encumbrance or a caveat.
- Get the amount from the association. The title does not show it.
- Check the special tax list. Twelve Calgary communities pay a City special tax with their property tax. The 2026 table is below.
- Leave the community association out of the math. Membership is voluntary.
- In a condo, ask about both. Condo fees and an association fee are separate charges.
- Have your lawyer confirm the account is paid up to the day you take possession.
A fee registered on the title
A residents association or homeowners association runs a community’s private amenities: the lake, the clubhouse, the entrance features, the extra landscaping. The City of Calgary describes these associations as created by the developer, and says they “collect annual encumbrance fees that are on property titles.”
Under Alberta’s Land Titles Act, an encumbrance registered on a title can secure an annual charge against the land (a rent charge, in the Act’s words), and an owner holds the title subject to whatever is registered on it. That includes the next owner. So the fee comes with the house. The associations say you cannot opt out. McKenzie Towne Council’s answer to “Can I opt out of paying the Annual Fee?” is “No, by virtue of the Encumbrance, you are legally obligated to pay the fee.” Lake Bonavista’s association says its fees “are mandatory whether you use the LBHA premises or not.”
Here is what eight associations publish for the current fee year, all in communities I have guides for.
| Community | Annual fee | GST | Fee year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cranston | $180.50 standard, $493 in Riverstone | Extra | 2026-27 |
| McKenzie Towne | $235.00 | Included | 2026 |
| Panorama Hills, north of the regional pathway | $262.50 single-family, $210.00 multi-family | Included | April 2026 to March 2027 |
| Tuscany | $298.82 single family, $224.12 multi-family | Extra | April 2026 to March 2027 |
| Arbour Lake | $254.10 condo unit, $317.63 regular lot, $444.68 lake access lot, $635.25 lakeshore lot | Included | 2026 |
| New Brighton | $370.94 single family, $278.21 multi-family | Included | 2026-27 |
| Lake Bonavista | $409.50 | Included | 2026-27 |
| Auburn Bay | $523.92 standard, $720.41 lake access, $1,047.80 lake shore | Included | 2026-27 |
Three things to watch in those fees
Some figures include GST and some do not. Cranston and Tuscany quote their fees before GST. When someone gives you a number, ask which way it is quoted.
The fee depends on the lot. A lakeshore lot in Arbour Lake pays about twice what a regular lot pays. In Cranston, a Riverstone address pays $493 plus GST against $180.50 plus GST for a standard one. The community name alone does not tell you the class.
Not every home in a community is in the association. In Hamptons, the homeowners association says the houses built on former golf course land are not part of it. Those are on Hamptons Court, Hampstead Mews and four addresses on Hamptons Drive NW. Panorama Hills has two associations with two different fees, divided by the regional pathway that crosses the community. The southern association says one phase has no encumbrance at all. The title of the specific address settles it.
Late accounts can collect interest. Lake Sundance’s association, for example, charges 18 per cent a year on outstanding fees. And an unpaid balance can stay with the property. The Hamptons Homeowners Association says its accounts “are filed under and stay with the property as ownership changes,” and that it “is not responsible for fees that are unpaid by previous owners.”
A City special tax on the property tax bill
Twelve Calgary communities pay for extra maintenance a different way. Owners petitioned the City, and the City now adds a special tax to each covered property’s tax bill. The money pays for the programme the community organisation runs. This is not an association fee. It is a tax, set by a bylaw Council passes every year. For 2026 that is Bylaw 2M2026, passed on February 24, 2026.
The City says the line on the tax bill reads “Special Tax - Boulevard Maintenance or Enhanced Landscape Maintenance.”
| Community | 2026 | 2025 | Who pays |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christie Park | $116.63 | $116.63 | Listed addresses |
| Citadel | $68.96 | $68.96 | All residential properties |
| Diamond Cove | $50.33 | $47.93 | All residential properties |
| Douglas Glen | $64.61 | $64.61 | Listed addresses |
| Douglasdale | $64.17 | $64.17 | Listed addresses |
| Edgemont | $86.52 | $86.52 | All residential properties |
| Hawkwood | $79.94 | $76.13 | All residential properties except The Uplands |
| Patterson Heights | $107.04 | $101.94 | Listed addresses |
| Royal Oak Estates | $225.11 | $225.11 | Listed addresses |
| Scenic Acres | $66.83 | $63.65 | All residential properties |
| Valley Ridge | $70.26 | $68.88 | All residential properties |
| McKenzie Lake | $5.41 | $5.15 | All residential properties |
Rates are per property, per year. Together the twelve cover 26,845 properties. Eleven of the twelve are for landscaping, and McKenzie Lake’s $5.41 pays for clearing snow and ice from community pathways.
In six of the twelve, part of the community pays and part does not. In Christie Park it is detached houses at the listed addresses. The townhouse complexes and Christie Park Manor SW are not on the list. Patterson Heights is a run of addresses on three streets: 87 to 391 Patterson Boulevard, 6 to 98 Patterson Close and 105 to 224 Patterson Mount SW. (The City’s website calls the same pocket Patterson Hills.) Royal Oak Estates is 635 properties at listed addresses inside Royal Oak, and the rest of Royal Oak does not pay it. In Hawkwood, The Uplands is the exception, and it has its own homeowners association with its own dues.
Douglasdale and Douglas Glen are two separate levies. Quarry Park, next door, pays neither. It has an association fee on title instead: $269.59 plus GST per residential lot for 2026.
A community can have both kinds of charge. In McKenzie Lake, the residents association’s fee applies to every owner with its encumbrance on title. Its fee page, which names no fee year, lists $375 plus GST for a general lot, $525 plus GST with lake access and $750 plus GST on the lakeshore. Every residential property also pays the $5.41 special tax for 2026.
The tax is not a membership. Seven of the twelve programmes are run by the community association, and joining it is still voluntary. The City’s notice to Citadel owners says the special tax “is not associated with the Citadel Community Association membership fees.” And Royal Oak Estates has a homeowners association that charges no fee. Its own FAQ says the majority of homeowners “agreed to the tax levy, instead of HOA fees.”
A special tax starts with a petition signed by two-thirds of the property owners in the community, and owners are asked to vote every five years on whether to keep it. The organisation running the programme can ask for a change of up to five per cent a year. For 2026, six of the twelve rates went up and six stayed where they were.
A community association membership
The third one is voluntary. The City describes a community association as “a volunteer run non-profit organization that represents the interests and concerns of a community,” with voluntary annual memberships. Thirty dollars a year is common: Evanston, Copperfield, Hawkwood and Silver Springs all charge a household $30. A membership is not registered against the home, and nothing is owed if you do not join.
A community can have both an association with a fee on title and a community association, and the names can be close. In Mahogany, the Mahogany Homeowners Association collects the fee registered on title and runs the lake. The Mahogany Community Association sells a voluntary $30 membership. If someone tells you the fee in Mahogany is $30, they are thinking of the wrong one.
Condo fees are separate again
Condo fees are contributions set by the condominium corporation’s board under Alberta’s Condominium Property Act. They pay for the building and the complex. A residents association fee is a separate charge, owed to a separate organisation, and several associations have a rate for condo units. Arbour Lake’s schedule lists a Condo Unit at $254.10, and Panorama Hills charges $210.00 for a multi-family title, both including GST.
So a condo in one of these communities can come with two bills. When you are comparing monthly costs between two condos, ask whether there is an association fee on top of the condo fee.
How to check a specific home
Start with the title. Titles are public records. You can order one through the Government of Alberta’s SPIN2 system or through a registry agent. A current title costs $10, and registry agents add their own service charge. Your agent can pull it for any home you are serious about.
On the title, look under the list of encumbrances, liens and interests for an encumbrance or a caveat that names a residents association or a homeowners association.
The title will not tell you the amount. A copy of the registered document costs $15 as of October 1, 2026. It shows what was registered, which is not this year’s fee. The encumbrance form Cranston’s association publishes secures an annual rent charge of $100 plus an adjustment amount for a standard lot, and the association’s 2026-27 standard fee is $180.50 plus GST.
Get the current fee from the association. Ask for the amount for the current fee year, the class the lot falls in, whether the figure includes GST, and when it is due.
Treat the listing’s figure as a claim, not a fact. MLS listings have a field for an association fee. The listing agent types it in, so confirm it against the title and the association.
Check the special tax separately. If the home is in one of the twelve communities above, check whether its address is covered and ask to see the seller’s property tax bill.
What happens when the home sells
The standard Alberta residential purchase contract treats “homeowner association caveats and encumbrances” as registrations the buyer accepts on title, so the encumbrance stays where it is. It lists homeowner association fees with property taxes as the seller’s responsibility through completion day and the buyer’s after that, and the lawyers adjust for them at closing.
Associations expect a call from your lawyer. Midnapore Lake Residents Association says, “Because of this encumbrance your lawyer will call to verify fees and handle reimbursement and/or payment in your disbursements.” That call keeps you from taking over an unpaid balance along with the house.
Some associations charge a new owner a one-time fee as well. Arbour Lake charges a $75 administrative fee each time a property changes hands, Lake Bonavista charges new owners $97.50 plus GST, and Lake Chaparral has a $100 new homeowner setup fee.
Tell your mortgage broker about the fee too. CMHC’s debt service calculator has a line for association fees, counted at 50 per cent.
Before you write the offer
- Read the title for an encumbrance or a caveat naming an association.
- Ask the association for this year’s fee, the lot’s class, and whether GST is included.
- Check the special tax table and, if the community is on it, whether the address is covered.
- In a condo, ask about an association fee on top of the condo fee.
- Ask what the fee gets you. A lake fee comes with lake access. A landscaping fee comes with nicer boulevards.
- Leave it to the lawyers to confirm the account is paid and adjust it at closing, but tell them it is there.
Common questions
Are HOA fees mandatory in Calgary?
A residents association or homeowners association fee is mandatory when the association has an encumbrance or a caveat registered on the home’s title. The owner holds the title subject to it, and it stays on the title when the home sells. Two other charges also get called HOA fees. Twelve Calgary communities pay a City special tax with their property tax, which is also mandatory. A community association membership is voluntary.
How do I find out if a Calgary house has an HOA fee?
Read the title. An association fee is registered there as an encumbrance or a caveat naming the residents or homeowners association. A current title costs $10 through the Government of Alberta’s SPIN2 system, and registry agents add their own service charge. The title does not show the amount, so get the current year’s fee and the fee class for that lot from the association. Then check whether the address is in one of the twelve communities that pay a City special tax, which appears on the property tax bill.
Which Calgary communities pay the special tax for landscaping?
For 2026, twelve communities are on the City of Calgary’s special tax bylaw: Christie Park, Citadel, Diamond Cove, Douglas Glen, Douglasdale, Edgemont, Hawkwood, Patterson Heights, Royal Oak Estates, Scenic Acres, Valley Ridge and McKenzie Lake. Eleven pay for enhanced landscape maintenance, at rates from $50.33 in Diamond Cove to $225.11 in Royal Oak Estates. McKenzie Lake pays $5.41 for snow and ice control on community pathways. In Christie Park, Douglas Glen, Douglasdale, Patterson Heights and Royal Oak Estates the tax applies to listed addresses only, and in Hawkwood it applies to every residential property except The Uplands.
Is a community association membership the same as an HOA fee?
No. The City of Calgary describes a community association as a volunteer-run non-profit with voluntary annual memberships, and a residents or homeowners association as one that collects annual encumbrance fees on property titles. A community can have both, and the names can be close: in Mahogany, the Mahogany Homeowners Association collects the fee registered on title and the Mahogany Community Association sells a voluntary $30 membership.
Do condo owners in Calgary pay an HOA fee on top of condo fees?
They can. Condo fees are contributions set by the condominium corporation’s board under Alberta’s Condominium Property Act. A residents association fee is a separate charge owed to a separate organisation, and several associations have a rate for condo units. Arbour Lake’s schedule lists a Condo Unit at $254.10 including GST, and Panorama Hills charges $210.00 including GST for a multi-family title.
Who pays the HOA fee when a house sells in Alberta?
Under the Alberta Real Estate Association’s residential purchase contract, homeowner association fees are the seller’s responsibility through completion day and the buyer’s after that. The lawyers adjust for them at closing. The registration itself stays on title, because the contract treats homeowner association caveats and encumbrances as items the buyer accepts. Some associations also charge a new owner a one-time fee, such as Arbour Lake’s $75 administrative fee each time a property changes hands.
Looking at a home and want to know which fees come with it?
Send me the address. I'll pull the title, tell you which of these charges it carries, and get this year's amount from the association. You don't have to buy through me to ask.
