There have been a two interesting decisions on costs released this month.  Ballingall v. Carleton Condominium Corporation No. 111 is the case I posted about previously where a group of owners commenced an application against the condominium and one of the directors because of their failure to enforce the single family residence requirement in the […]

Property management is a growing industry in Canada. From 2011 to 2012 alone, the last years for which data is available, the industry grew by $282 million nationwide, to nearly $5.6 billion.  This growth is set to continue, particularly in Toronto, where more than 130 building projects are still under way. As new communities emerge, […]

Effective property management requires many skills. From the ability to mediate disputes to the keen attention to detail needed to keep records and files straight, certain qualities are a must when it comes to being a good property manager.   Read the article……….

Before continuing our exploration of the CMSA, we thank our friends at the Ministry for pointing out that we had misnamed the CMSA in our earlier pieces as Condominium Management Standards Act when the correct name is Condominium Management Services Act. We have corrected the title and text of the earlier pieces accordingly.    Read […]

You may recall our blog on the Ballingall decision, released in April. This case dealt with the enforcement of a single-family provision in a condo declaration. In its decision on costs, released this morning, the Superior Court of Justice reminds condo directors that they must be willing to compromise and work with all owners who […]

Dealing with an owner whose unit is filthy, smelly and bug-infested is a challenging situation for any condominium corporation.  In a recent case, YCC No. 41 v. Schneider, the corporation found itself in court for a second time after the owners failed to comply with a previous court order that required the owners:   Read the […]

As part of our review of the proposed changes to the Condominium Act, this post will focus on how Bill 106 would affect the calling and holding of condos annual general meetings (“AGMs”).    Read the article…………

In late June I wrote about a case where an owner claimed that she needed to keep an overweight dog in her unit because of a disability. The condominium refused her request because, in the board’s opinion, she failed to provide sufficient evidence to substantiate her disability and the need for the dog. The condominium […]

Having set the historical context in part 1 and part 2 of this series, we turn to Bill 106 and the scope of the proposed new CMSA.       Read the article………….

Toronto is a leading place for growth in Ontario, and for all of Canada in general. The latest census figures have revealed that the city has been experiencing significant expansion over the past several years.   Read the article………….

Being on a community’s condo board of directors is not for everyone. While the board is comprised of unit owners from the building itself, and represents the interests of the owners when it comes to management of the condo corporation, there are many challenges associated with the position of board member.    Read the article…………..

If you have lived in a condominium community, you have probably heard a few phrases used on a regular basis. You may have heard about common elements and condo units, property managers and boards of directors, and various other terms.  One thing that many condo owners often have questions about is how the board of […]

Condominiums have legally been around in Toronto for more than 40 years. In that time, the market has grown exponentially, with an estimated 20,000 units coming into the market each year for the past couple of years.   Read the article………..

In this second instalment of our close examination of the proposed new Condominium Management Standards Act, 2015, we look at the steps taken by the condo managers themselves to improve standards, forming the genesis of a true self-regulated profession and paving the way for Bill 106 to take root.    Read the article…………..

Condo manager licensing and regulation is the focus of our first in-depth examination of the changes proposed in Bill 106 (Protecting Condominium Owners Act, 2015). This is a natural choice considering that manager licensing and regulation constitutes the largest change in our condominium law since 1967, in terms of how condominiums in Ontario are operated, […]

One of the hot topic nowadays in the condominium industry pertains to tenants in condos, short-term leasing of units and Airbnb type of short-term rentals. In this post, and in more to follow, I will be blogging about the rights and obligations of condominium corporations, unit owners and tenants with respect to the leasing of […]

One of the hot topic nowadays in the condominium industry pertains to tenants in condos, short-term leasing of units and Airbnb type of short-term rentals. In this post, and in more to follow, I will be blogging about the rights and obligations of condominium corporations, unit owners and tenants with respect to the leasing of […]

In this installment on the changes Bill 106 may bring to the existing Condominium Act, we focus on the changes expected to affect how corporations adopt and disclose their yearly budgets.  Bill 106 proposes to add an entire section on corporations’ budgets. This is new as the present Condominium Act is nearly silent on this […]

Bill 106 was introduced at Queen’s Park on May 27, 2015. If adopted, it will introduce sweeping changes to the governance and management of condominiums in Ontario. Since the introduction of this Bill, we have been blogging on the proposed amendments. In this post, we analyse what changes may be made to the qualifications and […]

I am regularly asked by clients to assist them with enforcement of dog restrictions (i.e. weight limits) or complete prohibitions in a condominium’s documents. Sometimes an owner will claim that he or she needs the dog because of a disability.     Read the article……………

In 2012, Alan and Erika White purchased a condominium in a subassociation of the Lakeland master community (Lakeland) in Auburn, WA. The master community is a mix of single family homes and condominium subassociations. The Lakeland declaration contains a provision preventing the rental of a “Single-Family Home” within the first year of purchase.   Read the […]

Have you ever faced a situation where a contractor requested taxes over the quoted price? How much should your condominium corporation budget for if all that the contractor quoted was a flat amount without details as to whether it includes HST or not?   Read the article……….

The situation is usually something like the following: Mr. Jones decides to buy a residential unit in a high-rise from the owner, Ms. Smith. The Agreement of Purchase and Sale indicates that Mr. Jones is purchasing the residential unit (Unit 10, Level 10) and a parking unit (Unit 80, Level A). The deal closes and […]

Condo directors in Ontario are expected to exercise a certain degree of attentiveness, caution and prudence while carrying out their duties. This expectation is known as the “standard of care” and is set out in section 37(1) of the Condominium Act, 1998, which provides:      Read the article……….

With today’s technology, it is very easy for anyone to participate in meetings by telephonic, electronic or other communication means. We are often asked by condo directors whether it is possible to hold their board meetings electronically as opposed to having in-person meetings. The answer is yes, provided that the following conditions are respected.  Read […]

Condominium legislation has been available in Ontario for decades, went through at least one massive overhaul in 1998, and is about to go through another revamp any day now after an exhaustive public consultation and review process.     Read the article………..

In a case released this week, an Ontario court concluded that it is sometimes insufficient for condominiums to simply investigate and passively attempt to resolve problems with common elements. In Wu v. Peel Condominium Corporation No. 245 the court concluded that the condominium’s delays and failure to address the source of excessive noise and vibration […]

You have probably all read about the oppression remedy in section 135 of the Act. As a recap, section 135 allows an owner, corporation, declarant or mortgagee of a unit to make an application to the courts where the conduct of another owner, corporation, declarant or mortgagee of a unit “is or threatens to be […]

In a recent Ottawa case, the court confirmed that a condominium corporation can (and should) prohibit the leasing of condo units to unrelated tenants when the condo declaration limits the use of the units to “private single families“.  Read the article…………

Owners and occupants of condominiums have a duty to comply with the Condominium Act, the declaration and the corporation’s other governing documents. In fact, the board of directors has an obligation to take reasonable steps to ensure that all owners and occupants do, in fact, comply with these governing documents. But condominiums also have a […]

Recently, owners living in an exclusive condominium complex downtown asked me whether there was anything that could be done to prevent short-term leasing of condo units in their complex.  Short-term rentals can indeed be quite problematic for a condominium corporation and its owners. We have dealt with many compliance issues which involve units in which […]