Part of the hesitancy homebuyers may have with buying a condo unit is its lifespan, which many believe is set to be 50 years at most.
While the Condominium Act of 1966 (also known as Republic Act of 4726) does not explicitly say that a condominium has a lifespan of 50 years, it implies so in Section 8c where the sale of the entire condo project is justified upon showing:
That project has been in existence in excess of 50 years; that it is obsolete and uneconomical, and that condominium owners holding in aggregate more than 50 percent interest in the common areas are opposed to repair or restoration or remodeling or modernizing of the project.
However, how does a condo’s lifespan actually play out in 50 years? What can condo homeowners reasonably expect in terms of maintenance, repairs, and replacements? What is the typical life expectancy of building assets or components?
An information bulletin titled “What happens over the life of a building?” by The Condominium Home Owners Association of British Columbia (CHOA) already provided the answers. Their study formed the basis of this infographic.
Life Expectancy of Building Components
To have an idea on how long building components last, UK-based Costmodelling Ltd., a developer of construction budgeting and cost-modelling software, provided a useful data on the typical life-expectancy of building materials.
We hope you find this infographic useful when deciding which condo to buy or invest in. Share your thoughts with us by commenting below.
