When purchasing a condominium unit, it is absolutely vital that you know what exactly it is you are getting yourself into. Accordingly, the Act imposes specific disclosure obligations onto declarants attempting to sell a unit. This is done through section 72 of the Condo Act.  In the same vein, section 74 of the Act provides […]

In a recent blog posting, we reported about a decision from the Ontario Condominium Authority Tribunal (the “Tribunal”), dismissing an owner’s application for the production of documents pursuant to section 55 of the Condominium Act, 1998, on the basis that the request fit within an established pattern of vexatious conduct by the owner.    Read the […]

The CAT has been busy this month releasing three new decisions. Obviously, the issues relate to record requests. All three cases have some interesting commentary on the circumstances when the CAT will award legal costs and penalties.   Read the article…………………….

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice decided that a couple was not in default in their agreement to purchase a condo, despite the vendor’s claim that they should not have their deposit returned.  Mark Ross, counsel on the case defending the couple, says the decision calls out builders’ bad faith in “heavily one-sided financing clauses” […]

A recent court decision ordering a not-for-profit organization to disclose the email addresses of its members caused quite a stir in condo land this past week. This brings us to revisit a recurrent question: Are condo owners entitled to access the list of email addresses of other owners? Read the article……………………

I am regularly consulted by our condominium clients about issues with the declarant. Sometimes the declarant is in arrears of common expenses for units it still owns. Other times the declarant has not paid the first year budget deficit owing to the condominium. Sometimes the declarant made promises to purchasers that they didn’t follow through […]

In a recent decision The Owners, Strata Plan LMS1590 v. Yip, 2018, the BC Supreme Court confirmed that commercial use restriction bylaws are valid and enforceable.  The case stemmed from a dispute between the owner and tenant of a commercial strata lot in the Richmond Public Market. The Market, which is a strata corporation comprised […]

When enforcing restrictions on tenancies or licenses (often called short-term rentals) the term used in a strata corporation’s bylaws is paramount. This is the lesson to be taken from the recent case of Semmler v. Strata Plan NES3039, 2018 BCSC 2064.  In Semmler, the strata corporation was a 201 unit recreational complex in the BC […]

The Condominium Act prevents condominium corporations from treating unit owners unfairly and differently from the rest of the owners. This obligation is found under section 135 of the Condominium Act (the oppression remedy).  In Noguera v. Muskoka Condominium Corporation No. 22, the Corporation and its board of directors learned that not complying with such obligations […]

Mention the word “Kitec” to condo managers and unit owners and you will likely be greeted with a look of panic. The various concerns regarding Kitec have been well covered in the condominium industry. What is of utmost importance is that once Kitec is discovered guidance should be sought in order to understand what the […]

Requisition meetings can be a source of anxiety for many directors, managers, and owners. In my experience, the conduct of the parties during the preliminary steps of the requisition process can exacerbate the anxiety and cause a great deal tension, hostility, and bickering at the meeting. We previously wrote about the requirements for requisition meetings […]

Registering construction liens against condominiums presents some unique challenges.  This article will outline some of those challenges and present some check-lists that can be used to ensure a lien is properly registered. The article will also outline some of the significant changes introduced by Ontario’s new Construction Act[1] that relate specifically to condominiums.    Read the […]

The four plaintiffs are current or former directors of YCC 78. They have commenced an action against two owners for statements made in three anonymous letters distributed in 2016 and 2017. Relations within the corporation have been contentious for some time, with aggressive negative campaigns for Board positions, allegations of electoral fraud, and litigation. The […]

The Condominium Authority Tribunal (CAT) has been up and running for a little over a year now. It has released 14 decisions so far, but it has handled hundreds of claims based on the last statistics disclosed at the ACMO/CCI-T Conference in November. Despite being a popular topic at condominium industry events, I am regularly […]

In Toronto Standard Condominium Corporation No. 2051 v Georgian Clairlea Inc. (“Georgian”) the Ontario Court of Appeal affirmed the findings of the motion judge with respect to a declarant’s disclosure obligations as set out in the Condominium Act, 1998 (“Act”).    Read the article…………………..

Significant legislative changes governing Ontario’s condominium industry which began rolling out more than a year ago have created a greater degree of fairness, say condo lawyers.  There is concern, however that the many changes to the Condominium Act have been introduced through a complicated process resulting in growing pains, they add.     Read the article………………….

In November 2017, the Ontario government, through the Ministry of Government and Consumer Services, passed legislation to update and modernize the Condominium Act (the “Act”). After extensive consultation with owners and industry participants, including examining practices in other countries, the Ministry introduced numerous amendments to the Act both to address past issues and to pave […]

Lawyers are bracing for another wave of amendments to the Ontario Condominium Act, but there are questions about when they’ll be enacted and if the change in provincial government will alter the course of the previously laid plans.  Given that lawyers and those who work in the condominium industry are still absorbing the first phase […]

Often times condo corporations will hold information/town hall meetings to update owners on current issues and also to get feedback from owners on various matters. Since these meetings are not considered owners meetings under the Condominium Act, the notice requirements and typical registration and meeting procedures do not apply.    Read the article……………………

The Province of Alberta is launching new condo rules that will increase transparency and improve condominium governance in the province. The new regulations will cover day-to-day condo living and follows consultation with thousands of Albertans from July 2017 to July 2018, including industry groups and condo owners.      Read the article…………….

Over the past few months many condo development lawyers have incorporated electronic voting wording into the General Operating By-law for newly registered condominium corporations in order for electronic voting to be used for the first owners meeting- the Turnover meeting. The reason- ensuring that quorum is reached without having to collect proxies.   Read the article………………….

Noguera v. Muskoka Condominium Corporation No. 22, 2018 ONSC 7278   Decision Date: December 11, 2018    Read the article…………………..

Well, we’ve done it! Congratulations to all on making it through another year. As we approach the end of 2018, there can only be one thing on your minds: the countdown. No, not the New Years countdown, the countdown of some of our favorite 2018 condo decisions of course!     Read the article…………………

As we are quickly approaching a new year, we’ve taken a look back at the condominium legal landscape over the past year. This has been quite the year! Here are some of the highlights.   Read the article…………………

In a recent case, Noguera v. Muskoka Condominium Corporation No. 22, a unit owner, Mr. Noguera, sued the condominium corporation, claiming that it had acted in a manner that was oppressive and unfairly prejudicial to him.   Read the article…………………….

Below is a brief look back at some of the most talked about cases in 2018:    Read the article……………….

British Columbia’s NDP government (the “Government”) will soon introduce measures aimed at cracking down on real estate tax evasion as part of the housing strategy set out in its Homes for BC: a 30-point Plan for Housing Affordability in British Columbia released on February 20, 2018. The Real Estate Development Marketing Amendment Act, 2018 received […]

One of the many objectives behind the amendments to the Condo Act was to maintain and strengthen the “open books” principle by making an easier path for unit owners to access corporate records. The new Act also provided much needed guidance by identify many (but not all) of the corporate records as well as the […]

Condominium communities can certainly be a lively forum for negative and destructive comments. Board members and managers are frequently accused of “receiving kickbacks” or “being on the take,” or “acting in bad faith” and engaging in “illegal” methods.  Condo bylaws typically contain a provision entitling directors to be indemnified by the corporation for damage or […]

After the initial rush for implementing cannabis smoking rules in units has passed, condominium corporations should begin to shift some focus to regulating cannabis-oriented activity in commercial condominium units. With over a month since the Government of Canada legalized recreational cannabis use on October 17, 2018, the Government of Ontario has so far only legalized […]

Board minutes are important documents as they are often the only way owners can get insight into what decisions are taken by the board of directors. The Condo Tribunal was asked to determine whether an owner was entitled to get 20 year old board minutes.     Read the article………………….

The plaintiff rents commercial space in TSCC 1441, a downtown condominium. The parties have been in litigation for several years over the use of common elements. In May 2018 the parties met with Justice LeMay in a pre-trial conference that lasted two days.     Read the article………………….

Since recreational cannabis became legal, many condominium corporations have enacted rules to prohibit smoking tobacco and cannabis and cultivating cannabis plants in units. Once a corporation enacts these new smoking rules, they have a statutory obligation under the Condominium Act (the “Act”) to take reasonable steps to enforce owners’ and tenants’ compliance with the new […]

We posted previously about some common errors and misconceptions that we have run into since the Act was amended last year. We are still encountering issues regularly. Given the complexity of the regulations is it any wonder we are still encountering mistakes and misconceptions? Here are some of the most common issues we have encountered […]

In one of our recent posts, we discussed the consequences for directors who fail to take the mandatory condo director training within the allotted time. A few readers wondered whether they had found a loophole around this obligation. Today, we thought we’d share it with you.      Read the article……………….

When a store on the main floor of a condo building suffered $25,000 in losses from a flood, the strata corporation was on the hook for the $5,000 deductible.  The strata corporation tried to recover the $5,000 deductible from a plumbing firm, but the plumbing firm is not responsible, the British Columbia Civil Resolution Tribunal […]

On November 5, 2018, the provincial government of British Columbia approved amendments to the Real Estate Development Marketing Act and the Real Estate Development Marketing Regulations, in order to facilitate disclosure of information to provincial and federal authorities. Effective January 1, 2019, these amendments will require developers to (among other things):    Read the article……………………

There has been some talk about a recent decision of the Court of Appeal that discussed the duty of honest performance. The duty of honest performance “requires the parties to be honest with each other in relation to the performance of their contractual obligations”. This is not the first case to discuss this obligation, but […]

The “new” Condo Tribunal started hearing and adjudicating condo-related disputes on November 1, 2017. A year later, what have we learned? What documents are being requested? Are corporations complying with their obligations? Can corporations charge to access records? In this post we take a look back at the CAT’s first year of operation.    Read the […]

A Vancouver condo owner will have to pay his strata council $22,000 after he rented out his home against the bylaws, according to a recent ruling from the B.C. Civil Resolution Tribunal.  The strata initially challenged Peter Gordon’s renting of his condo in May 2016, when they wrote a letter telling him he was breaking […]

“Can we terminate our snow removal contractor?” This is a question condo managers and directors hear fairly often from dissatisfied owners. So, what is it? Can you terminate the contract early? The answer is “perhaps”, but have a close look at your contract before you do.     Read the article…………………