Canada

Canada Condominium (Strata) & HOA News

Developer’s debt woes worsen as more Metro Vancouver condo projects face insolvency (BC) January 10, 2025
Promoted as a place designed to be “the centre of your world,” Thind Properties advertised the multi-million-dollar Eclipse condo tower in Burnaby, B.C., as a place where owners “would never have to leave home” to find balance. This week, the embattled developer’s own lack of financial equilibrium led a B.C. Supreme Court judge to place two companies incorporated to build the Eclipse and three other towers into creditor protection — the latest Thind projects to face insolvency over mortgage debt. ...
Owners feel like ‘sitting ducks’ (AB) January 10, 2025
Thieves continue to wreak havoc at Winagami Lake by robbing cottage owners of valuable property. The thefts continue despite pleas to local authorities for help. “We are starting to wonder what else needs to happen before enforcement efforts are ramped up, right now we are sitting ducks,” says Darcy Beach, vice-president, Winagami Lake Cottage Owners Association he wrote in an email Sunday, Jan. 5 Read the article…………………………….
B.C. strata owners must apply for doorbell cameras, tribunal rules January 10, 2025
Owners in a B.C. strata complex must apply to the council to keep their doorbell cameras, B.C.’s Civil Resolution Tribunal has ruled in a decision citing privacy issues. Shelley Hudson was a leasehold tenant at the strata. She claimed the strata had violated the Strata Property Act by withholding copies of records and documents about doorbell cameras she requested. In his Jan. 9 decision, tribunal member J. Garth Cambrey said the strata must provide the documents. Read the article…………………………….
Proposed law would support P.E.I. tenants facing condo conversions (PEI) January 9, 2025
A private member’s bill that would provide more rights and protections for tenants whose apartments are converted into condos got a boost Wednesday from a housing advocacy group — and from a tenant who’s gone through the conversion process. Read the article…………………………….
Condo Smarts: It’s essential to maintain parking garages (BC) January 8, 2025
Q: Our Victoria strata corporation approved $5,000 in our budget this year for the parking garage to be power washed and cleaned. Our strata council decided not to proceed with the work to save money, and as we are approaching the end of the year, we actually will have a $30,000 surplus! What’s the point of approving the budget when a strata council doesn’t follow it? Read the Q&A………………………………..
Tribunal dismisses Burnaby strata complaint over neighbours’ ‘putrid’ smells, hoarding (BC) January 7, 2025
A Burnaby owner who claimed his strata wasn’t doing enough to deal with safety risks and bad smells created by his neighbours’ alleged hoarding has lost his case at the province’s Civil Resolution Tribunal. Etienne Strydom, who lives in a two-storey apartment building near Byrne Creek Ravine Park, told the tribunal his next-door neighbours’ unit was “unsanitary and unsafe,” and “putrid” odours emanated from it, according to a CRT ruling Monday. Read the article…………………………….
Owners anxious over delayed $6.2M sale of condemned Edmonton condo building (AB) January 7, 2025
Owners of a north Edmonton condo building evacuated in 2023 due to the risk of collapse are hopeful the troubled property will soon be sold, following months of delays in getting the deal done. Read the article…………………………….

Canada Condominium (Strata) & HOA Articles

Timely enforcement of condominium caveats: Unenforceable caveats are no longer permitted on title (AB) January 10, 2025
The court in Shui Ming Tong Foundation concluded that the condominium corporation was entitled to maintain the caveat it registered against the defendant unit owner’s certificate of title under s. 39.2(6) of the Condominium Property Act, RSA 2000, c C-22 (the “CPA”), notwithstanding that the amounts secured by the caveat were limitations barred and the condominium corporation was no longer entitled to pursue debt or foreclosure proceedings to collect the outstanding contributions. Read the article…………………………….
Smoke and Odour Migration in a Condominium that Permits Smoking (ON) January 10, 2025
The Condominium Authority Tribunal decision of Kovalenko v. Romanino et al. dealt with the allegation of an owner – who resides within a condominium that permits smoking – that certain smoke and odour migrating into the owner’s unit is unreasonably interfering with the quiet use and enjoyment of his unit and is therefore causing a nuisance. Read the article…………………………….
Condos entitled to enter units to repair and maintain common elements (ON) January 8, 2025
As our first blog post of the year, we revisit the question of whether condo corporations are entitled to enter a unit to repair and maintain common elements. As you will see from a 2023 decision, an owner’s refusal to permit access to their unit can end up being costly to them. Read the article…………………………….
A Holiday Shout-Out to Rod Escayola: The King of Condo Cheer December 20, 2024
Before diving into our festive condo tale, we’d like to dedicate this post to none other than Rod Escayola, whose annual holiday blog posts have become a cherished tradition in the world of Ontario condominiums. Rod has an incredible knack for combining wit, wisdom, and a sprinkle of holiday magic to make even the driest condo topics feel festive and fun. Read the article…………………………….
Property Disasters: When Should Condominiums File an Insurance Claim? (ON) December 19, 2024
For Condominium Boards and Property Managers, experiencing a property disaster, be it a fire or flood, the disaster tends to occur at the worst time. Aside from the need for a proactive response, there is the question of whether this disaster warrants an insurance claim. Read the article…………………………….
Strata electrical planning report (BC) December 18, 2024
To plan for increased electrical demand – including electric vehicle (EV) charging and heat pumps – strata corporations with five or more strata lots, are required to obtain an electrical planning report by December 31, 2026 or December 31, 2028 depending on where the strata corporation is located in British Columbia. Read the article…………………………….
Bill 30 Could Make Condo Living in Alberta, Easier December 17, 2024
Alberta has tabled legislation that aims to improve governance in condominium communities……Developers and contractors would also benefit from this Act. Amendments would allow them to get paid in full sooner, and harmonize prompt payment rules and processes for public and private sector construction projects. Read the article…………………………….

Canada Laws

Ontario Condominium Act

British Columbia Strata Property Act

Quebec – Divided Co-ownership of Immoveables

Alberta – Condominium Property Act

Saskatchewan – Condominium Property Act

Nova Scotia – Condominium Act

Manitoba – The Condominium Act

New Brunswick – Condominium Property Act

Prince Edward Island – Condominium Act

Labrador/Newfoundland – Condominium Act

Canada Condominium & HOA Resources

Canadian Condominium Institute – The Canadian Condominium Institute is the Voice of Condominium in Canada. It is a national, independent, non-profit organization dealing exclusively with condominium issues.

Ontario

The Condominium Authority of Ontario

The Condo Management Regulatory Authority of Ontario

The Association of Condominium Managers of Ontario

Resources for Condo Directors & Owners

Forms related to the Condominium Act

Condominium Dispute Resolution Model for Ontario

Toronto Condo News

British Columbia

Strata Housing (BC Government site)

The Condominium Home Owners Association

Vancouver Island Strata Owners Association