On July 4, my wife came home from work for lunch and called me to ask, “Did you know someone came by earlier at 11:20 a.m. to replace our smoke alarm?” That caught me off guard – because I had just replaced our smoke alarm myself last October, picking it up on sale at Home Depot for $20.
She told me they left behind the box and a note detailing what was done – including the exact time they entered and exited our unit. As you can see in this picture, it took just 6 minutes to complete the replacement.
That got me thinking: what does this model – the First Alert BRK SC9120LBLA – typically cost?
I looked it up and found it listed on AAR Tech Canada, a wholesaler of safety and security equipment. When you buy 100 or more units, the price drops to $59.99 CAD each.
With 168 units across our buildings listed for device replacement plus all common areas and garage, this was still a substantial job – and it raised the obvious question:
How much are condo owners being charged for this?
Well, thanks to a notice recently posted on our building’s announcement board, we now know a few more things. According to the post by management on June 24, 2025, this work was part of the Annual Fire Deficiency Repairs conducted between June 30 and July 4. The notice stated:
Costs for in-suite device replacements will be charged back to the suite owner.
But how much will that be exactly? No explanation of pricing was given. That’s a big omission, especially considering that a full fire inspection already took place back in March – which, at the time, didn’t include any in-suite replacements or charges to owners. Now, just a few months later, device replacements are being done in suites with no advance breakdown of costs or rationale for urgency.
Entering units and completing work without prior disclosure of costs raises serious transparency concerns. For a condominium corporation managing significant resident funds, proactive communication is essential.
What makes this even more confusing is a communication from just last year.
In my email archives, I found an April 18, 2024 message from the then-active ICON Property Manager, which clearly stated:
Please be reminded that the smoke/CO detectors in your suite are the owner’s responsibility to replace, if required.
The actual equipment is owned by the homeowner, and is therefore, the homeowner’s responsibility to replace and maintain as per the Standard Unit Bylaw.
That sounds pretty clear – and yet now, replacements were done by contractors, with charges to follow. Why the sudden shift?
Many owners are now left wondering:
Was this replacement necessary for all affected units?
Were owners properly notified about cost implications in advance?
What exactly are we being charged for – and how much?
Until we get a clear explanation, I’ll keep asking questions – and keeping a close eye on what’s going on, both inside our units and behind the scenes at the current condo administration.
