Compliance
A Director Should Not Act Against the Rest of the Board
Last week, the court rendered a lengthy decision in the Ballingall matter. In this court case, we represented a group of unit owners who successfully enforced the “single family” provision found in the corporation’s declaration. Our previous post on this case focused on how the court enforced the condo’s single-family provision. This post will focus on the court’s […]
A Condominium Declaration Can Prohibit Short-term Rentals to Unrelated Students
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“. The Facts of This Case In this case involving a 38-year old condominium corporation, two factions faced each other: the owners […]
Condominiums Have a Duty to Accommodate Individuals with Disabilities
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 duty […]
Pet Eviction: A Tenant Does Not Have More Rights Than an Owner
The Residential and Tenancies Act, 2006 is the legislation presently applying to landlords and tenants. It provides that “[a] provision in a tenancy agreement prohibiting the presence of animals in or about the residential complex is void.” Consequently, a landlord cannot prevent a tenant from having a pet. However, what does that mean for condominium corporations? Can […]
When Hoarding in Condominiums Becomes a Hazard for Other Residents
This case involving a housing co-operative provides a good (but sad) example of the difficulties faced by a corporation (be it condominium or co-operative) when faced with a hoarder. In this case, the co-operative appears to have taken all required steps to protect the other co-owners and the corporation. It involved the Police Department, the […]
A Condo Owner Ordered to Pay $790,000 in Legal Fees
When a condo owner and a condominium corporation face each other in court, often the legal fees incurred become the true object of the litigation. There is no point in winning a case if it is going to cost you more in legal fees than what you recovered. For that reason, traditionally, the successful party […]
Noise Complaints in Condos: The Perils of Failing to Enforce Condo Rules
Property managers and condominium corporations should take noise complaints seriously or risk facing serious financial consequences. In a recent case, a condominium corporation that failed to enforce its rules prohibiting excessive noise was ordered to compensate an owner for the costs incurred to find alternative accommodation and was ordered to pay a significant costs award. […]
Should Violent Condo Owners Be Forced To Sell And Leave?
In a recent decision, the Superior Court of Justice was once again asked to determine whether a condominium owner should be forced to move out and sell her unit as a result of her violent and inappropriate conduct towards other owners. The evidence presented in the case showed that Ms. Hayes had committed no less […]