A condo association in Montreal's Saint-Henri neighbourhood says it is being threatened with fines if it doesn't quickly repair damage caused to its building by city subcontractors doing sidewalk construction.

"I honestly thought it was a joke — I didn't think that this could be happening," condo association president Sabrina Rapone said.

The condo association received a letter stating that the cracks that had developed in the building's foundation were a health and safety issue and the association could be on the hook for a $2,000 fine after the building's administrator called the Southwest borough to report the cracks.

The letter, sent by a borough inspector, stated the association had 30 days to make the repairs.

Resident Diana Kazarashvili first noticed the cracks in the foundation of the building on the corner of Chemin de la Côte-Saint-Paul and Notre-Dame Street West on Oct. 25.

The damaged spot was close to a construction zone where a sidewalk was being rebuilt. Kazarashvili says she approached the workers to ask if the crew was responsible for the fissures.

The cracks on the building as seen on Nov. 11. (CBC)

According to Kazarashvili, the employees acknowledged that the damage had been caused by their work on the sidewalk, and said that they would take care of fixing it.

But a few days later, the damage had not been repaired and the building's administrator called the Southwest borough to tell them about the cracks.

The borough sent an inspector to survey the damage on Nov. 3, and four days later, mailed a notice to Rapone.

After reading the letter, Rapone contacted the borough to point out that, with winter approaching, she couldn't get the repairs done in the time.

An inspector agreed to extend the deadline to next summer.

But, despite the extension, Rapone says that the municipality should foot the bill for repairs.

"I knew it was going to be a struggle to go and claim against the city … but I didn't think that they would add insult to injury and tell me that I was at fault," she said.

Sidewalk construction is seen near the cracked foundation of the condo building on Oct. 25. (Photo submitted by Sabrina Rapone.)

Montreal will look into it

A spokesperson for the Southwest borough told CBC said that the sidewalk work was actually managed by the City of Montreal's public works, not the borough, and it is part of the nearby reconstruction of the Turcot Interchange.

City spokesman Jacques-Alain Lavallée said he looked into the matter and confirmed the work was the responsibility of the central city.

"The City of Montreal will send a representative on location to assess the situation," Lavallée said in a written statement to CBC Montreal.

Condo residents say that comes as a relief, but they're still frustrated that action had not been taken sooner.