Compliance
Condo Arrears Include Legal Fees
In a recent unreported Ottawa case, a condo owner sued his condominium to recover the legal fees charged against his unit following his failure to pay his common expenses on time. This case reminds owners of the importance of paying in time the totality of the arrears… including the interests and the legal fees incurred by the corporation […]
Is your Condo Ready for the Legalization of Marijuana?
Last week, the government of Canada introduced legislation to legalize and regulate the possession, production and use of marijuana in Canada. What does that mean for your condo corporation? It may be time to update your rules. Are you considering adopting a rule regulating smoking or cannabis? You may want to survey your owners before you […]
What can Condo Corporations do When Owners Display Signs of Mental Incapacity?
In this post, we discussed two recent cases where the courts have had to make the difficult decision of whether to order a condo owner to have their mental capacity assessed. Interestingly enough these cases led to surprisingly different results. The Ottawa case The Ottawa case originated from a dispute “surrounding” Ms. Sennek’s garden. Literally. She appeared […]
Can Noise Complaints Lead to the Eviction of a Condo Tenant?
People living in condos have a duty to comply with the corporation’s regulations. Condo corporations, for their part, have a duty to take all reasonable steps to ensure such compliance. But to what extent? Can tenants of a condo unit be evicted because they are causing excessive noise? Or should the corporation let neighbours sort out […]
Airbnb Is Incompatible with The “Single Family Use” Provision of Most Condo Declarations
With the growing interest in the “sharing economy”, Airbnb and other short-term rental websites are often causing headaches within condominium communities across the province and beyond. In many cases, condominium corporations have had to adopt rules to attempt to regulate the leasing and occupancy of units within their complex. While useful, these rules may have […]
Condominium Declaration, By-laws and Rules: What’s the Difference?
I was speaking this weekend at a Condominium Director’s Course given by CCI-Eastern Ontario. One of the participants asked me to explain the differences between a condominium declaration, by-laws and rules. While the more seasoned condominium directors have become familiar with these documents, many first-time directors may be puzzled by the differences between them. In fact, […]
Courts Will Protect Condo Board Decisions… made in good faith
You may recall our blog on an Ottawa case opposing a mixed-use condominium corporation to the owner of a public parking business within this corporation. The Court of appeal reversed the original decision and concluded that condo board decisions taken in good faith should be shown deference and will not likely be set aside by […]
New Condo Act: Very Few Amendments Were Made at the Committee Level
We all know that Bill 106 (the Act amending Ontario’s Condominium Act and other related legislation) was adopted and received Royal Assent in December 2015. It did so after the required three readings before the Legislative Assembly and after having been referred to the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs. There, Ontarians and stakeholders […]
Condominiums Can Prevent Smoking in Units
We already blogged on smoking restrictions in common elements and on exclusive-use balconies. But what about smoking in units? Can a condominium corporation prevent an occupant from smoking in his own home? The short answer is yes. In Ontario, such a prohibition would have to be enshrined in the condominium’s declaration or in a rule adopted […]
A Condo Year in Review – Our Top 10 Most Popular Posts of 2015
As most of Ontario was hit with its first snow storm of the winter, I sat down to take stock of 2015. And what a year it has been for us and for the Condo Adviser! Since our launch on March 24, 2015, we published more than 70 posts! Best of all, the response from our readers has […]