Rod Escayola
Should Condo Owners Vote on Changes to Common Elements?
A recurring question from our readers is whether condo owners are required to vote on a renovation project. Aside from the more important question of whether they should be consulted or informed (yes, they should), the legal question is whether consultation is mandatory and, if so, what is the level of support required for the […]
When Neighbourly Disputes Get Out of hands
I was recently asked by CBC to comment on a war-of-the-roses type of dispute between neighbours. This non-condo court case playing out of Kingston involved two former neighbours who were suing each other for damages. It all started when, after a confrontation between the two neighbours, one of them tried to […get ready for this one…] […]
Do Police Need a Warrant to Investigate on Common Elements (Part I)
The Toronto Star recently covered an interesting story involving Toronto police having installed a covert camera in the hallway of a condo corporation to assist in their investigation. They did so without a warrant but with the board’s permission. This piece raised privacy concerns, which lead us to ponder on the duties, rights and obligations […]
Soldier Ordered to Take Down Canadian Flag from Condo Unit
This past week, a high-ranked soldier was ordered to take down the Canadian flag and pole affixed to his condo unit. Naturally, social media lit up over this, mostly with reactions of shock at such an unpatriotic demand – condo boards and managers are rarely seen as the good guys. Emotions aside, this leave us with […]
Court Approves a Borrowing By-law Despite the Absence of a Majority Supporting it
A very short, and somewhat puzzling, decision was issued in January 2019, which appears to change the level of support required to adopt a condo by-law. The decision appears to have been rendered on an uncontested basis, which may explain the outcome. This blog post is about the LaFramboise v. YCC No. 365 case. As I read […]
Are Condo Owners Entitled to Access the Owners’ Email List?
A recent court decision ordering a not-for-profit organization to disclose the email addresses of its members caused quite a stir in condo land this past week. This brings us to revisit a recurrent question: Are condo owners entitled to access the list of email addresses of other owners? In case you are pressed for time, let […]
What Documents Must be Included with the Periodic Information Certificate?
Most are already familiar with the requirement to send out Periodic Information Certificates (PICs) to condo owners in Ontario. PICs must be sent twice a year (thankfully down from the initially contemplated 4) and must be prepared in accordance with regulation. Thankfully, the province of Ontario has made things easier by issuing the form to […]
Time to File your 2019 CAO Condo Returns
It’s that time of year again! Time to start working on filing your Condo Returns with the CAO. The deadline is March 31, 2019. This year, this mandatory requirement comes with good and bad news: Good news: The CAO is (temporarily) reducing it’s Assessment Fees (Yay!); Bad News: The CAO may fine corporations who miss the […]
How Long Must a Condo Retain Information Certificates?
Our blog post on condo record retention triggered a fair bit of interest and many questions from readers. Specifically, many asked how long they should retain the information certificate. Here’s our answer. What is the Information Certificate? Periodic Information Certificates (and their cousins, the “Information Certificate Update” and the “New Owner Information Certificate”) are documents […]
Democracy in Condos: What’s in a majority?
As many of us are slowly (and perhaps reluctantly) making our way back to work this first week of January, we thought we’d start the year with an easy and fun post: a Quiz! This time, our Quiz will focus on the level of support required for different condo decisions. Indeed, we often think that majority […]