What Your Condo Fees Actually Pay For

If you live in a community of single-family homes, you might find yourself paying monthly or annual homeowner’s association (HOA) fees. If you live in a condominium community, you’ll instead be on the hook for condo fees.

While the two fees aren’t totally interchangeable, they do serve similar purposes, and they can add — sometimes quite a bit — to your costs as a homeowner. On the flip side, they also help ensure your amenities and community are well-maintained, and so keep your property value up.

But how much can you expect to pay in condo fees, and what exactly do they cover? Here’s what you need to know.

What are condo fees?

Condo fees are a type of fee paid by owners of individual condo units. They go toward the entire condo community or complex that your unit is located in, and they’re paid by every owner who lives there, usually on a monthly basis.

The goal of a condo fee is to support the needs of the larger community. The money goes toward things like maintaining shared spaces, building exteriors, grounds and amenities, as well as paying for services like insurance, utilities, landscaping and more.

What condo fees cover

Condo fees are designed to pay for the shared expenses of a condominium community and can cover a wide range of expenses and services.

These might include:

Landscaping: Condo fees are often used to ensure the grass is well-tended, flowers are planted regularly and shared green spaces are maintained and healthy.
Maintenance of exteriors and shared areas: While condo owners are responsible for maintenance and repairs within their individual units, it’s condo fees that cover repairs and maintenance elsewhere. This includes the outside of buildings, walkways, parking lots, hallways, elevators, exterior doors, gates and other features that are used by all residents.
Amenities: Condo fees also help pay for on-site amenities, like pools, security services, fitness areas, dog parks, etc.
Insurance: While you’ll need an insurance policy on your individual unit, your larger community needs property insurance, too, to cover jointly owned assets. Condo fees help pay your portion of this cost.
Utilities and services: If your complex has any garbage, recycling, or other utility services, these are paid for out of the condo fees collected from all residents.
Staffing: If you have an on-site property manager, maintenance or other staff, condo fees will go toward paying their salaries.
Security: Whether you have an on-site security guard, a monitored property-wide security system or some other security features, this will be paid for through condo fees.
Reserves: A portion of condo fees also goes toward your community’s cash reserves, which it uses to cover unplanned expenses and emergencies.

The exact expenses condo fees cover can vary, so be sure to check over your community’s Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (also called CCRs) before buying in. You can also ask the condo association for a copy of its annual budget to get a feel for where those fees go.

What condo fees don't pay for

Condo fees include a wide range of costs and services, but they don’t pay for everything. For instance, they won’t cover any of the costs for individual units — like your personal home insurance policy, your property taxes or, in most cases, your individual utilities.

These fees are only for community-wide expenses, so anything that pertains to just you and your property is likely not covered. Check your CCRs to be sure, though.

How much are condo fees?

Condo fees can vary widely across communities. The size of the community, the amenities it includes, its location, and other factors can all play a role. For example, a community that requires regular snow removal for four months out of the year may have a more expensive condo fee than one located in a more temperate climate. You might also pay more if your community has a pool, spa, gym or other shared amenity.

Generally speaking, condo fees can range anywhere from $50 a month to upwards of $1,000, according to property management firm Condo Manager. The average sits at around $300 to $400 per month.

Again, though, the exact cost you’ll pay should be spelled out in your community’s CCRs, which you’ll review before closing.

Pros and cons of condo fees

No one wants to pay more than they need to for housing, but there are some benefits to paying condo fees. For one, the income that fees raise lead to a better-maintained complex, which helps to keep property values high in the community.

By taking care of requirements such as exterior painting, the payments can also reduce the amount of maintenance you need to do as an owner and can allow your community to offer amenities like an on-site gym, pool or security guard.

On the downside, the fees do mean increased out-of-pocket costs – and, depending on your community, potentially a lot of them. These payments could strain your budget, especially if fees increase over time (a pretty regular occurrence in many communities).

Other key questions about condo fees

How much are most condo fees?
Condo fees can vary widely. Some communities charge as little as $50 per month, while others can charge upwards of $1,000. It depends on your location, the amenities in your complex, and other factors.

What do condominium fees cover?
Condo fees pay for maintaining shared spaces, on-site amenities, property-wide utilities and insurance, staff salaries, exterior repairs, landscaping and more.

Why do condos have so many fees?
Condos have fees to cover the costs of maintaining shared areas within the community, as well as such shared expenses as insurance for common areas. While individual condo owners are responsible for the costs of their units, condo fees go toward expenses faced by the entire complex — exterior repairs, landscaping, staffing, security, etc.