Run apartment buildings, condos or offices for the owners: tenants, repairs, budgets and the 2 am flood.
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Pay, the path, pros and cons and the facts on one printable page. Good for a wall or a guidance counsellor.
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What you earn and what it costs to get there.
Typical
$65,000
Assistant or resident manager
$38,000
Senior or portfolio manager
$117,000
Job Bank groups this job under property administrators, with the page titled Strata Property Manager. Its national median is $31.25 an hour, about $65,000 a year full time. The low end includes resident managers who get a free apartment as part of their pay. Commercial and large condo portfolios pay at the top.
$38,000 to $48,000
Assistant property manager, leasing agent or resident building manager
Resident managers often live on site rent-free, which is worth $15,000 to $30,000 a year in a big city. Job Bank rates prospects very good in Ontario and good in Quebec, Alberta and Saskatchewan.
$100,000 to $117,000
Senior condo manager, commercial property manager or portfolio manager
Managing a portfolio of towers, or an office or shopping centre for an institutional owner, pays this. Some senior managers also earn bonuses tied to occupancy and budgets.
Tuition, fees, exams and kit. Not rent, food or travel
Plenty of property managers start with no post-secondary education at all and get licensed while working, so the low end is just the provincial licensing course and exam at about $1,000 to $2,000 and the first licence fee. The high end adds a one or two year college diploma in business or real estate at $3,000 to $6,000 a year. Designation courses run several thousand dollars more but employers commonly pay for them once you are hired. Some provinces do not license residential property managers at all, which drops the entry cost further.
Many people enter with no post-secondary at all and get licensed while working. This is one of the lower-cost paths in real estate.
Free or discounted housing
For resident and building managers.
Health and dental
Standard at the larger management companies.
Car allowance or mileage
You drive between buildings.
Bonus
Some companies pay for hitting occupancy or budget targets.
The exact path from high school to qualified.
Start in a building, get licensed where your province requires it, then grow your portfolio.
High school diploma
Grade 12
Job Bank says secondary school is required in every province except BC, where a language test and a minimum age of 19 apply instead.
Diploma or first job
0 to 2 years
Some take a 1 to 2 year business or real estate diploma. Many start directly as a leasing agent, property administrator or assistant manager. Job Bank says several years of administrative experience are usually expected.
Provincial licence, where required
A few months
BC (strata and rental managers, through the BC Financial Services Authority), Alberta (property and condo managers, through RECA, the Real Estate Council of Alberta), Manitoba (through the Manitoba Securities Commission) and Ontario (condo managers only, through the Condominium Management Regulatory Authority of Ontario). Each involves a course and an exam.
Property manager
2 to 4 years
Your own building or small portfolio. In Ontario, condo managers hold a limited licence and work under supervision for about 2 years before qualifying for a general licence.
Designation (optional)
1 to 3 years, part time
The CPM (Certified Property Manager) or ARM (Accredited Residential Manager) from the Real Estate Institute of Canada, or the RCM (Registered Condominium Manager) from ACMO (Association of Condominium Managers of Ontario).
Business studies
Budgets, contracts, customer service.
Math
Operating budgets, reserve funds, rent increases.
English
Notices, letters and meeting minutes.
Technology or shop
Knowing how a boiler or a roof works helps you manage the contractors who fix them.
Job Bank lists this occupation as regulated in BC (by the BC Financial Services Authority) and Manitoba (by the Manitoba Securities Commission). Alberta licenses property managers and condo managers through RECA (the Real Estate Council of Alberta). Ontario licenses condo managers only, through the Condominium Management Regulatory Authority of Ontario; managing a rental building in Ontario needs no licence. Other provinces have no licence at all. Licences do not transfer automatically, so moving provinces usually means a new course and exam.
Things you don't need, but that help.
CPM (Certified Property Manager)
The senior designation from the Real Estate Institute of Canada. Common on commercial and large residential portfolios.
ARM (Accredited Residential Manager)
Also from the Real Estate Institute of Canada, for apartment and rental managers.
RCM (Registered Condominium Manager)
From ACMO (Association of Condominium Managers of Ontario). Preferred by many Ontario condo boards.
Commercial property management
Office, retail and industrial buildings pay more than residential and involve bigger budgets and leases.
A trade or maintenance background
Former superintendents and tradespeople make strong managers because they can judge a repair quote.
A driver's licence
Required. You travel between properties.
Bookkeeping
Reserve funds, operating budgets and rent rolls are a big part of the job.
Thick skin
Tenants and condo boards can be angry. Staying calm and documented is the skill.
Day to day, pros and cons, where you'd work.
Emails and calls from tenants or condo owners: a leak, a noise complaint, a lost key fob. Walk the building with the superintendent, note what needs fixing. Get quotes from a plumber and a roofer. Review the month's budget and chase late rent or condo fees. Show a vacant unit. Evening: a condo board meeting where owners debate a special assessment for the parking garage. On call for emergencies, which come at the worst times.
The good
The hard parts
Things people don't tell you.
Until then anyone could manage a condo in Ontario. Now the Condominium Management Regulatory Authority of Ontario licenses managers, and since July 2023 renewing a general licence requires continuing education.
British Columbia calls condominiums strata corporations, which is why Job Bank's page for this job is titled Strata Property Manager. Same job, different word.
Job Bank counted about 48,200 property administrators in Canada in 2023, and rated the next three years very good in Ontario and good in Quebec, Alberta and Saskatchewan.
Last checked September 2026. Pay figures are typical full-time annual amounts in Canadian dollars, based on Government of Canada Job Bank wage data and published salary grids. They vary by province, employer and experience. Tuition is for domestic students.