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 on August 14, 2014, the Court of Justice reminds condo directors that they must be willing to compromise and work with all owners who have legitimate interests. Failure to do so can be expensive for corporations, for condo directors personally… and for all owners.
In the Ballingall matter, an Ottawa condominium corporation had decided not to enforce its own declaration by allowing owners to continue to rent units to unrelated tenants. In fact, even the president of the board was in breach of the declaration’s single-family provision and rented 4 of his units to unrelated students attending the near-by university. When some owners attempted to get the corporation to crack down on these rentals, the board, instead, attempted to pass a rule which would grandfather all owners (including the president) from the application of the single-family provision for a period of 10 years.
