Request for Condominium Records – Can Legal Bills be Refused on the Grounds of Privilege? – A Recent Case

A recent case (Jack Gale v. HCC No. 61, 2019 ONCAT 46) before the Condominium Authority Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) considered whether a condominium unit owner was entitled to receive copies of the condominium corporation’s legal bills that reference the owner’s…

Electronic Voting Tips for Condominium Corporations

Our office has been busy these past few months either attending or chairing Annual General Meetings or Special Owners Meetings.  What is different this year is that many of these condominium corporations introduced electronic voting to their communities to do their…

Unit Owner Goes to Human Rights Tribunal Over Condo’s Prohibition on Rentals

A condo unit owner in British Columbia filed a complaint (Rutherford v. Strata Plan VS 170, 2019 BCHRT 227) with the Human Rights Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) alleging that her strata corporation discriminated against her on the basis of her disability…

Auditor General’s Report Criticizes Tarion Warranty Corporation

In a recent special report, the Auditor General of Ontario criticized Tarion Warranty Corporation’s management of the Tarion Warranty Program after finding that Tarion did not effectively carry out its role to enforce home warranties and to regulate builders. The…

Tarion Amendments Provide More Disclosure to Buyers of Pre-Construction Residential Condos

In a prior post we blogged about pre-construction condo projects in the Greater Toronto Area that were cancelled by the developers in accordance with unilateral termination rights set out in the purchase agreements. While the purchasers received a refund of…

Why Electronic Voting is Clicking with Condo Owners

Electronic voting for condominium corporations was recently the subject of a column “Why Electronic Voting is Clicking with Condo Owners” by highly regarded Star columnist and Real Estate Lawyer, Bob Aaron.  To read Bob’s comments click here.

Small Claims Court Claim Increase – Access to Justice or Opening the Floodgates?

Effective January 1, 2020, the maximum amount permitted to be claimed in Small Claims Court will increase from $25,000 to $35,000. Right now, any amount above $25,000 needs to be pursued in the Superior Court of Justice. Small Claims Court…

Condo Human Rights Guide

Condo corporations are responsible for complying with the Ontario Human Rights Code in a variety of different capacities; as an employer, non-profit business entity and a housing provider.   Under the Ontario Human Rights Code,  condo corporations are required to respect…

Buyer Loses Deposit After Rescinding Pre-Construction Purchase Agreement

In a recent Court of Appeal decision, (Lin v. Brookfield Homes (Ontario) Ltd., [2019] O.J. No. 4563) a buyer of a pre-construction condominium forfeited her $133,000 deposit after the Court of Appeal confirmed that she had no right to rescind…

Fire Safety Workshop for Condo Managers and Board Members- Oct. 23, 2019

The time has come for Condo Managers and Directors to experience real live demonstrations on fire safety at the upcoming CAI Canada workshop.  A very innovative way to learn about fire code compliance through reality based training.  Only two hours…