Many condominium corporations effectively plan for the future and prepare for costs associated with typical maintenance and replacements. However, when a major repair or capital improvement project is needed, those that don’t have adequate funds set aside may have reasons to worry. If this happens, or the condo faces a significant unforeseen expense, a special […]

After years of lacklustre performance and miscues, Condominium Authority of Ontario (CAO) is receiving a higher level of scrutiny by the Auditor General who utilized her office, resources and influence to better identify issues that have become apparent and reported on by Toronto Condo News in the three years since it was established.   Read the […]

When a unit owner feels it is necessary or warranted to sue their own condominium corporation, the owner is typically very frustrated or upset about a situation. It can often be an emotionally charged decision. In some instances, an owner’s frustration or anger can cause them to also seek recourse from the condominium corporation’s Board […]

Good riddance to 2020. It was a challenging year by any stretch, but the industry prevailed with the hard work of many front-line condominium personnel including, but not limited to, cleaners, security staff, superintendents and property managers. While we are not out of the woods quite yet, a big thank you goes out to all […]

The CAT’s decision in Abou El Naaj v. Peel Standard Condominium Corporation No. 935 reflects a problematic trend of condos failing or refusing to participate in Tribunal proceedings. We do not recommend ignoring a CAT application… Just like real live cats, they don’t go away by simply ignoring them.     Read the article………………………………..

We have the privilege of representing many condominium corporations throughout the Greater Toronto Area and Ontario at large. Many condominium law firms, management companies and service providers have this privilege.   Read the article…………………………………………..

Six subscription policy insurers that denied coverage to a condo corporation in a $4.4-million water damage claim — a denial based on reference to the wrong policy — have had the matter tossed out of court.   Read the article……………………………………

A brand-new Occupiers Liability Act provision requires Notice to be given by a person injured by ice or snow on privately-owned property, within 60 days after the date of injury.   Read the article………………………………

The courts kicked-off the year with the release of a decision discussing condominium arbitrations and the importance of explicit appeal rights in arbitration agreements.  This case involved a unit owner, who operated a legal cannabis store at the condominium building. The condo believed this breached a rule prohibiting cannabis sale at the property. Through an […]

As many of our readers will know, an owner may in some cases be responsible for insured damage falling with the deductible on the condominium corporation’s insurance policy. For example, Section 105 (2) of the Condominium Act, 1998, renders an owner responsible for deductible damage (to the owner’s own standard unit) caused by an “act […]

One of our first posts of the year was on the requirements for making, amending, or repealing by-laws. In response to that post we were asked about the requirements for making, amending, or repealing rules. This lead to our third post of the year. If you haven’t read both posts make sure you go back […]

In 2017, news broke that a group of Toronto condo board members conspired to divert hundreds of thousands of dollars from a building’s operating budget into their own pockets. The group posed as condo owners, forged ballots and managed to take control of a condo board in 2016. Some of these individuals had allegedly infiltrated […]

Take note! The Strata Property Act has specific requirements for strata meetings. These requirements help guide strata corporations when they are conducting important business, and ensure they govern themselves democratically.  Read the article………………………………….

Spontaneity is not often wanted or welcomed when it comes to strata corporation meetings. Agendas help ensure meetings are carried out in an organized, systematic manner. They also enable strata council members to properly prepare for questions or issues that will take precedence during the meeting.   Read the article……………………………….

Lessons learned from Strata Plan LMS 3905 v. Crystal Square Parking Corp., 2020 SCC 29  The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that a strata corporation is bound by the terms of a parking facility agreement that existed before the corporation was formed, because the strata’s behaviour was consistent with an intention to enter into […]

A recent Supreme Court of Canada ruling in favour of a property maintenance firm has several liability risk management takeaways when it comes to contracting for commercial clients.    Read the article…………………………………….

Last week we described the process for creating new condo by-laws. One of our astute readers asked: Is the process for passing rules the same as passing by-laws? Today, we tackle that question.   Read the article………………………………..

The Government of Ontario is currently holding written public consultations about making legislative changes to authorize virtual and digital processes under the Condominium Act, 1998. As our readers may recall, last summer, the government enacted the COVID-19 Response and Reforms to Modernize Ontario Act, 2020 in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Schedule 5 of […]

With many condominiums passing by-laws to allow for virtual meetings and electronic voting, one of the most frequently asked questions right now is: how many owners need to approve the by-law? This became a common question after the Condominium Act, 1998, was amended in 2017 to create two different voting thresholds for by-laws. Prior to […]

In the case of Shen v. The Owners, Strata Plan EPS3177, the B.C. Civil Resolution Tribunal held that the strata corporation had failed to call and hold a proper meeting of the owners.  Among other things, the Tribunal said that:     Read the article…………………………..

Management of contracts is an all-too-common task that condominium Boards face. The recent decision from our country’s highest court in CM Callow v Zollinger, is an important reminder that Boards must approach this task with care.    Read the article………………………………….

After 20 years in the industry, one property manager says he’s seen a fair number of residents struggling with mental health conditions. “We face these things all the time,” says Vadim Koyen, president of CPO Management. “Unfortunately, the number of people who suffer from mental illness are increasing tremendously and those people are living in […]

Some of our Condominium Forms on ontario.ca will be moving over to the Condominium Authority of Ontario website January 1, 2020    Read the article……………………………….

In this blog, I provide my list of top five things to look for in 2021. Here goes.     Read the article……………………………

We previously blogged about insurance companies not wanting to provide coverage to snow and ice removal service providers. We noted that Bill 118 was trying to address some of the underlying concerns. Bill 118 received royal assent on December 8, 2020, but the changes are not exactly what those in the snow removal industry were […]

As children, we are taught (hopefully) that honesty is the best policy. All these years later it turns out that the childhood lesson is also solid legal advice. In C.M. Callow Inc. v Zollinger (https://decisions.scc-csc.ca/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/18613/index.do), a December 18, 2020 decision of the Supreme Court of Canada, our nation’s highest court provided the condominium industry with […]

In King Day Holdings Ltd. v. The Owners, Strata Plan LMS3851[1], the general rule that strata owners are “all in it together” gave way to fairness considerations and King Day Holdings Ltd. (“King Day”) reigned supreme in its claim that the strata council’s allocation of strata fees based on unit entitlement was significantly unfair.    Read […]

The Condominium Authority Tribunal recently granted an order under Rule 4.5 of its Rules of Practice for the first time since its inception. Rule 4.5 states:  If the CAT finds that a Party has filed a vexatious Application or has participated in a CAT Case in a vexatious manner, the CAT can find that Party to […]

This year has been a year full of challenges for board members, managers and professionals dealing with servicing and guiding condominium corporations through the pandemic.  One of the fundamental changes that occurred in 2020 was the move from in-person owners meetings to on-line virtual meetings.     Read the article……………………………..

Approximately two months have passed since the CAT’s jurisdiction expanded beyond condo record requests to include disputes regarding, pets, parking, vehicles and storage and chargebacks related to such issues. However, the CAT has yet to release a decision dealing with these new topics. It may take some time for cases involving expanded jurisdiction issues to […]

On October 23, 2020, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) released its decision in The Owners, Strata Plan LMS 3905 v. Crystal Square Parking Corporation (“Crystal Square”), an appeal about whether a pre-incorporation agreement was binding on the owner of an office tower.[1] The SCC’s ruling in Crystal Square clarifies the requirements for finding pre-incorporation […]

Ontario just passed a bill amending the Occupiers’ Liability Act, which will bring drastic changes to how claims for “slip and falls” can be brought against condo corporations (and other occupiers).   Read the article………………………………

2020 has been an eventful year, to say the least. With everything else going on in the world, who has time to stay on top of changes in condominium law? We do! And so to help you out, we’ve prepared a list of 10 changes and decisions in condominium law in 2020 that you won’t […]

To aid taxation enforcement, the government has passed the Land Owner Transparency Act, 2019 SBC c. 23 (“LOTA”) to create a new registry to track beneficial land ownership. This legislation comes into effect on November 30, 2020. Below are a few key points for Stratas and Owners of Strata Lots to know:     Read the […]

There are limited circumstances where directors of condominium corporations can be personally liable for oppressive conduct under Condominium Act, 1998.    Read the article………………………………..

Virtual Meeting and Electronic Voting by-laws are all the rage right now. Most of our clients are adding this by-law to the agenda for their AGMs since getting this by-law confirmed by the owners only requires a majority vote of those in attendance (either virtually, electronically or by proxy). Most other by-laws, such as a […]

It’s more than a condominium. It’s one of your biggest investments, your home, your community, and your lifestyle. Shouldn’t every aspect of it be of the highest quality, including how it’s managed? Doesn’t your lifestyle and condominium community deserve the best?    Read the article…………………………………..

Upcoming changes to the Condominium Act, 1998 will come into force on January 1, 2021 that will add an additional document which must be delivered by developers to purchasers of condominium units. An electronic or paper copy of Ontario’s Residential Condominium Buyers’ Guide (Condo Guide) must be provided to all pre-construction or new condominium unit […]

Has your condominium corporation convened an Annual General Meeting (AGM) in 2020? If you’re not a member of your Board of Directors and you answered ‘no’ to that question, you may want to find out for sure after reading this.  I recently attended my own AGM. It’s a small condominium property with fewer than 40 […]

I have been contacted by several condominium corporations regarding amending their bylaws to bring them into compliance with recent changes to Alberta’s condominium legislation. Along with the changes introduced in 2019 and 2020, the Legislature provided condominium corporations with the ability to amend bylaws that conflict with the revised legislation by way of an ordinary […]

A few weeks ago I spoke as part of a panel at CCI National’s Conference. The case that I spoke about was a decision of the Ontario Condominium Authority Tribunal (CAT) about solicitor-client privilege. Given the frequency at which I see clients inadvertently waive solicitor-client privilege, I thought it might be good to review the […]

CAO’s new Condo Guide includes the following:  “Some chargebacks are specifically authorized by the Condo Act. For example, section 92 (4) of the Condo Act allows condo corporations to add repair costs to a unit’s common expenses fees, where repairs were completed on an owner’s behalf after they failed to complete them within a reasonable […]

Most condos now conduct business through electronic meetings, which can be recorded by the host. Meeting recordings are not a novel concept but our recent dependence on electronic meetings has given them new life. Minute takers have historically recorded in-person meetings to aid in accurate minutes and to best recall the details of important discussions. […]

Clients don’t always know the process when they have to report a condo insurance claim, and a number of property and casualty insurance professionals believe education of condo managers and boards is key to turning around the hard market in condo insurance.   Read the article………………………………..