The main difference between owning a condo and a house is maintenance. If you owned a house and needed the roof repaired, that would be your financial responsibility alone to have it fixed. If you own a condo, maintenance such as this would likely be split between the owners of the condo association. Since common area maintenance is shared amongst owners, this requires a monthly fee to be paid to ensure the expenses can be paid. These monthly fees are referred to as condo fees in Alberta.