Rod Escayola
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 […]
Can Condo Owners Lease Out Their Parking Space?
CBC news recently reported on a Uber-style app that connects drivers looking for parking with people who want to lease their parking space. The article warned that the City of Ottawa zoning by-law does not allow the rental of residential driveways – unless the rental is directly associated with the lease of the dwelling itself (meaning […]
How Much Time Does a Condo Have to Register a Lien? (Part 2)
In Ontario, condominium corporations can register liens against the unit of an owner who defaults in paying his or her common expenses. Once the lien is registered, it grants the condominium priority over the mortgage. This very powerful tool to collect arrears. A lien expires if it’s not registered within 3 months of when the default […]
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, […]
Register Your Condo Lien Early or Risk Losing It
Timely collection of common expenses by condominium corporations is essential to the safeguard of their financial viability. For this reason, the Condominium Act permits condominiums to register liens against the unit of owners who are in default of paying their common expenses. Once registered, the lien has priority over mortgages. However, to benefit from this […]
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 […]
First-Year Deficit of a Condominium Corporation
One of the first challenges of a new condominium board of directors is the survival of the first fiscal year on a budget set by the builder. When there is a shortfall between this first-year budget and the actual operating expenses incurred by the corporation during that first year, condominium corporations can turn to the declarant. First […]
Defibrillators in Condominiums
One of the question we are increasingly being asked by our condominium clients is whether they should consider installing automated external heart defibrillators and, if so, what liability may be associated with the installation and use of such defibrillators. It is well-known that the steps taken in the minutes following a cardiac arrest may make a difference […]
Can Condo Directors be Sued for Conspiracy?
An interesting case came out of Toronto last week where the owner of three commercial condominium units commenced a claim against the condominium corporation and the directors personally, claiming conspiracy, nuisance and intentional economic interference. This raises an interesting question: Can condo directors be found to be involved in a conspiracy when they take decisions as […]
Condo Directors Have a Limited Right to Privacy
Last week, we blogged on whether owners are entitled to access the email address list of other owners. Judging by the popularity of the blog, it seems that we struck a chord. One of our readers asked me to elaborate on how this right to privacy may apply to condo directors. Are they entitled to have […]