Where can I get a copy of my condominium's bylaw?

Alberta condominium bylaws are registered at Alberta Land Titles. You can purchase a copy directly or your property manager should provide one on request. The registered bylaw — not the marketing brochure or a draft — is what the tribunal will consider.

Do I need affidavits or witnesses for a CDRT case?

Not for most fine disputes. The CDRT is a written-evidence forum. Documentary evidence — the fine letter, the bylaw, correspondence, photos — usually carries the case. Witness statements are useful where facts are contested; affidavits are not generally required.

CDRT guide · Evidence

What evidence do I need to file at the Alberta CDRT?

Q: What documents do I need to file at the Alberta CDRT?

At minimum: the fine letter you received, your condominium's registered bylaw, any prior warnings or correspondence with the board, and a clear written statement of the procedural problem you're alleging. Photos, witness statements, and timeline notes also help.

Last updated May 16, 2026

The fine letter you received, your condominium's registered bylaw, any prior correspondence with the board, and a clear written statement of the procedural problem you're alleging. That's the minimum. The strongest applications also include a timeline, photos where relevant, and a copy of the specific CPA / CPR sections you're relying on.

The single hardest part of a CDRT applicationis articulating the procedural problem in legal terms. That's what a FineCheck report does — for $15. Check my fine →

The evidence checklist

Gather these before you file. Missing items can sometimes be added later, but a complete file at submission makes negotiation and mediation much faster.

1. The Proposed Sanction notice (fine letter)

The letter itself is your most important document. Keep the original envelope or email if you have it — service method and date matter for deemed-receipt calculations. Don't edit, annotate, or modify the original; scan or photograph it cleanly.

2. Your condominium's registered bylaw

Alberta condominium bylaws are registered at Alberta Land Titles. The version on file there is authoritative — not a marketing brochure, not an old draft, not what your manager remembers. If you don't have a copy, your property manager should provide one on request; otherwise you can purchase one directly from Land Titles for a small fee.

Make sure you have the bylaw that was in force on the date of the alleged contravention. Bylaws can be amended; the version that applies is the one registered at the time of the alleged breach.

3. Any prior warnings, complaint letters, or board correspondence

Many bylaws (and the CPR) require a prior written warning before a sanction can be imposed. If the board claims this is a second offence, you want documentation of any first warning. If no prior warning was issued, that absence is itself evidence — and can be a material procedural defect.

4. Your response to the fine, if you sent one

If you responded to the Proposed Sanction within the response period, include your written response and any acknowledgment from the corporation. If the board imposed the fine despite your response, the Board's analysis of your response should be in the file too (the CPR requires the Board to consider responses before imposing).

5. Photographs or other physical evidence

If the alleged contravention is something a photo can prove or disprove (parking, common-property condition, signage), include timestamped photos. Phone photos with metadata intact are usually sufficient. If your defence is “this never happened,” you may have less to show — make a clear written statement instead.

6. A timeline of events

A simple chronological list of dates: when the alleged conduct occurred, when (if ever) you received a prior warning, when the Proposed Sanction was issued, when you responded, when the fine was imposed. Tribunal members rely on timelines to see the procedural story at a glance.

7. The specific CPA / CPR sections you're relying on

This is where most self-represented owners get stuck. You need to identify the specific provisions you say the corporation breached. For fine disputes, the most common are:

CPR s.73.7 — the ten required fields a Proposed Sanction notice must include. Missing any one can void the notice.
CPR s.73.8 — the fine cap. $500 for first offences, $1,000 for subsequent offences.
The deemed-receipt rules — they govern when your response deadline starts. Wrong service-method calculations are a common procedural defect.

What FineCheck gives you

A FineCheck report directly produces items 6 (timeline) and 7 (CPA/CPR section identification) — the two items that are hardest for non-lawyers to put together. We map your fine letter against the regulation and tell you which specific sections the corporation appears to have missed, with quoted text and citations.

Combined with the documents you already have (items 1–5), the FineCheck report is the closest thing to a ready-to-file evidence pack you can get without a lawyer.

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How to organize your evidence

The tribunal accepts electronic submissions. Three practical tips:

One PDF per category.Don't submit 30 loose phone photos; combine them into a single PDF with a one-line caption under each.
Label every file clearly. 01-fine-letter.pdf, 02-bylaw.pdf, 03-prior-correspondence.pdf. The order matters because the tribunal reads sequentially.
Write a one-page summary up front. Even if not required, a single page that names your three best procedural arguments with their CPR section numbers helps the tribunal find the case quickly.