Ontario & British Columbia · ASTM E2018
Property Condition Assessment
An evaluation of a building, its systems and its site — what condition they are in, what needs remedying, and what it will probably cost over the next ten years.
- Standard
- ASTM E2018-24current edition since 1 January 2024
- Also called
- Building Condition AssessmentPCA and BCA mean the same thing here
- Typically for
- Due diligence & financingoften a lender requirement
- Deliverable
- Report with cost tablesshort and medium term, usually to 10 years
What a property condition assessment is
Also known as a building condition assessment. The inspection and report follow the ASTM Property Condition Assessment standard (ASTM E2018), which defines both the scope of work and its limitations.
The assessment evaluates the condition of the building, its systems and its site components, and sets out efficient, reliable and affordable methods for current and future repairs. Subject to the limits of the agreed scope, it lists the major deficiencies and assesses the remaining service life of the major components.
It is most often required for due diligence before acquiring a property, or for financing and refinancing. Lenders commonly ask for one to confirm the building is in adequate condition and that maintenance costs will stay acceptable over the term of the mortgage.
For a purchaser it is also a negotiating tool: a documented deficiency with a costed remedy supports either a reduction in price or a requirement that the seller carry out repairs before closing.
Many owners repeat the assessment every three to five years as a planning exercise rather than a transactional one. The right interval depends on the building's use, structure, location, size and age — and a specific problem such as cracking or water penetration is reason enough to commission one sooner.
When you need a property condition assessment
Six situations that usually prompt one.
What the cost table looks like
The section lenders and purchasers turn to first: probable cost to remedy deficiencies, split between immediate needs and the years ahead.
Swipe the chart to see the full range
Types of property we assess
Construction and systems differ by property type, and so does what drives the cost table.
Industrial buildings and facilities
Warehouses, manufacturing and logistics propertiesIndustrial properties typically consist of a large warehouse section, comprising most of the building area, and an office section at the front. Commonly these are single-storey buildings without a basement, although some have office sections running to two floors.
Building materials vary between properties, but it is typical to find steel structural components, exterior precast concrete panels, exterior concrete block and brick veneer masonry, exterior metal siding, and flat roofs supported by open-web steel joists.
On this type of property the cost table is usually dominated by a handful of large items: the roof membrane over a very large area, the asphalt in truck courts and parking fields, and the overhead doors and dock equipment. Fewer components than a tower, but each one expensive when its time comes.
Commercial buildings
Offices, retail malls and plazas, and commercial condominium unitsA commercial property may be a self-standing building or a unit within a complex, on one or several floors. Uses include office buildings, retail malls and retail plazas, and service-providing buildings. Many commercial properties are held as commercial condominium units — a single owner holding one or several units within a larger complex — which affects both what the corporation is responsible for and what falls to the individual unit owner.
In some cases the building is mixed-use, with a retail commercial section on the main floor and residential apartments above.
Common construction materials include concrete or steel structure, exterior brick masonry, flat or sloped roofs and exterior siding. The mechanical systems in many cases include rooftop HVAC units and a sprinkler system.
Mixed-use properties need particular care over the boundary between the commercial and residential portions — which systems are shared, which are separate, and who is responsible for each. That boundary decides what belongs in the report and what does not.
Apartment buildings
Multi-unit residential, rental and condominiumApartment buildings that require a property condition assessment are those with five or more units. The assessment is more common for buildings with more than three floors and over ten units.
Common construction materials include concrete or wood floors, exterior brick veneer or loadbearing brick masonry, and cast-in-place concrete foundation walls. Mechanical systems typically include a hydronic heating system — a gas-fired boiler with radiators throughout the building — although many buildings use electric baseboards instead.
Sample units are inspected rather than every unit, and the sample matters: it should span floors, orientations and unit types, because a report based on three units on one elevation tells you very little about the building as a whole.
Institutional properties
Churches, schools, community and municipal buildingsInstitutional properties include churches and other places of worship, schools, community centres, municipal buildings and similar publicly or congregation-owned facilities. Many were built decades ago and have been altered or added to over time, so the assessment often has to reconcile several generations of construction within one property.
Construction varies widely by age and type, but commonly includes masonry or concrete structure, older mechanical and electrical systems approaching the end of their service life, and accessibility or life-safety upgrades layered onto an original design that predates current code.
Budgets on institutional properties are often tied to a board, congregation or council rather than a single owner, so the report is written to support a group decision — clear priorities and costs a non-technical board can act on, not just a technical inventory.
Hotels & motels
Guest accommodation, from roadside motels to full-service hotelsHotels and motels range from single-storey roadside properties with exterior room access to full-service, multi-storey hotels with enclosed corridors, conference space and food service. The assessment scope differs accordingly — a motel's exposed walkways and parking wear differently than a hotel's interior corridors and elevators.
Common systems include guest-room package or through-wall HVAC units in addition to central plant, extensive life-safety systems given the transient occupancy, commercial laundry and kitchen equipment where food service is offered, and pool or amenity areas that carry their own maintenance and code obligations.
Because guest rooms generate revenue, deficiencies here carry a cost beyond repair — a room or floor taken out of service during work is lost income, which is often a real factor in how repairs get sequenced.
Hospitals
Acute care, long-term care and medical office buildingsHospitals and related medical facilities range from acute care hospitals and long-term care homes to medical office buildings and outpatient clinics. Scope on these properties is shaped as much by the critical systems inside as by the building envelope — redundancy and continuity of care are engineering concerns here in a way they are not on most other property types.
Common systems include emergency backup power and generators, medical gas piping, specialized HVAC with strict air-change and filtration requirements for clinical spaces, and life-safety systems built to a higher standard given the occupants' ability to evacuate. Older facilities are frequently a patchwork of additions built to different code editions over several decades.
Because a hospital cannot simply close a wing for repairs the way a vacant commercial unit can, sequencing and phased access are as much a part of the report's recommendations as the deficiencies themselves.
What does a property condition assessment include?
An evaluation of the physical condition of the building, its site components and its systems, in order to estimate long-term maintenance costs and needs.
A long-term maintenance programme addresses the specific needs and condition of the building, keeping it in proper condition while reducing maintenance costs over time. Subject to the limitations of the scope of work, the assessment lists the major deficiencies in the building and its systems, and assesses the remaining service life of the major components.
Items typically included are structural elements, roofs, exterior walls, finishes, heating systems and electrical systems, among others. What is examined in any given assessment is agreed before the work starts and stated plainly in the report, so a reader knows both what was assessed and what was not.
Subject to the limitations of the assessment, the scope typically includes
What the report contains
Five sections, in the order a reader needs them.
How a PCA differs from other building reports
These are often confused, and commissioning the wrong one wastes both time and money.
| Report | Standard | Typically for | Horizon | Required by law? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Property condition assessment | ASTM E2018-24 | Purchase, financing, capital planning | Usually 10 years | No — but often a lender condition |
| Reserve fund study | O. Reg. 48/01 | Ontario condominium corporations | 30 years | Yes, every 3 years |
| Depreciation report | Strata Property Act | BC strata corporations | 30 years | Yes, every 5 years |
| Performance audit | Condominium Act / Tarion | Newly registered condominiums | Warranty period | Yes, once |
A property condition assessment is the commercial equivalent of due diligence, not a statutory filing. If your property is an Ontario condominium or a BC strata, the reserve fund study or depreciation report is the report the legislation requires — though many corporations commission a PCA as well when buying or refinancing.
What a property condition assessment does not do
Stating the limits plainly is part of the standard, and part of a report you can rely on.
The assessment is a visual, non-destructive review. Finishes are not opened up, concealed elements are not exposed, and systems are not dismantled. Where a concealed condition is suspected, we say so and recommend the specific further investigation needed rather than guessing at it.
It is not an environmental site assessment. Contamination, soil and groundwater are a separate discipline with separate standards — though we carry out both, so the two can be coordinated on one property.
It is not a designated substance survey. Asbestos, lead and other designated substances require sampling under separate legislation before renovation or demolition work begins.
Costs in the report are opinions of probable cost, not quotations. They are order-of-magnitude figures for budgeting, and they should be tested against contractor pricing before money is committed to a specific scope of work.
Related Insights
The standard behind a property condition assessment has changed, and reports citing the old edition are increasingly questioned. Our Insights timeline records the regulatory and standards changes affecting this work, in order.
Service areas
We work across Southern and eastern Ontario from our Vaughan and Ottawa offices, and across British Columbia from Vancouver. Each area has its own page.
- Ajax
- Barrie
- Brampton
- Burlington
- Cambridge
- Cornwall
- Durham Region
- GTA
- Guelph
- Hamilton
- Kitchener
- London
- Markham
- Midland
- Milton
- Mississauga
- Newmarket
- Niagara Falls
- Oakville
- Orangeville
- Orillia
- Oshawa
- Ottawa
- Parry Sound
- Peterborough
- Pickering
- Peel Region
- Richmond Hill
- Simcoe County
- St. Catharines
- Thornhill
- Toronto
- Vaughan
- Waterloo
- Welland
- Whitby
- Windsor
- Woodstock
- York Region
- Reserve Fund Study (Ontario)
- Depreciation Report (British Columbia)
- Performance Audit
- Pre & Post-Construction Survey
- Energy Audit & Thermal Imaging
- Engineering Expert Witness Report
- Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment
- Phase 2 Environmental Site Assessment
- Designated Substance Survey
- Record of Site Condition
- What changed in ASTM E2018-24
- The 2015 edition, for older reports
Common questions
Property Condition Assessment Questions
What is a property condition assessment?
An evaluation of a building, its systems and site components, reported against the ASTM E2018 standard. It identifies material physical deficiencies and estimates the probable cost of remedying them, usually over a ten-year horizon.
Is a PCA the same as a building condition assessment?
In practice, yes — the terms are used interchangeably in Canada. ASTM E2018 is the standard behind both.
When is a property condition assessment required?
Most often for due diligence before acquiring a commercial property, or for financing and refinancing. Lenders commonly require one to confirm the building is in adequate condition and that maintenance costs over the mortgage term are acceptable.
Which properties need one?
Industrial buildings and facilities, commercial buildings such as retail plazas, office buildings and hotels, and apartment buildings — generally those with five or more units, and most commonly buildings over three storeys with more than ten units.
How often should an owner repeat the assessment?
Many owners repeat it every three to five years. The right interval depends on the use, structure, location, size and age of the building. It is also worth commissioning one when a specific problem appears, such as cracking or water penetration.
Which edition of ASTM E2018 do you follow?
ASTM E2018-24, which replaced the 2015 edition on 1 January 2024. Lenders increasingly specify the current edition, so it is worth checking which one a proposal cites.
How much does a property condition assessment cost?
It depends on the size and type of property, the number of buildings, and whether specialists are needed for high-cost systems such as elevators or a large parkade. We quote a fixed price for a defined scope before the work starts, rather than billing hourly against an estimate.
How long does a property condition assessment take?
For most properties we can attend within a week or two of engagement, with the report following two to three weeks after the site visit. Larger properties and multi-building sites take longer, and we confirm the schedule when quoting.
Buying, Financing or Planning?
Send us the property address and what the report is for — we'll confirm the scope and reply with a fixed quote, usually within one business day.