Ontario Condo Law Blog : Toronto Condominium Lawyer & Attorney : Gardiner Miller Arnold Law Firm : Ontario, Ottawa, Hamilton, Kitchener

As 2009 drifts into the history books, we look back at some of the notable condo law decisions made by Ontario courts and tribunals in the year gone by.

Here are ten of them, in no particular order.  Click the bolded case names to view full text decisions at Canadian Legal Information Institute ("CanLII").

#1 - Nipissing Condominium Corporation No. 4 v. Kilfoyl, 2009 CanLII 46654 (ON S.C.)
Corporation obtains a compliance order against owners operating a boarding house in violation of the “single family residence” provision in the declaration. The owners unsuccessfully claim that the case must first be mediated/arbitrated (as per Condo Act s. 134(2)), and that the single family use provision violates the Human Rights Code. The case is now under appeal.

#2 - Metropolitan Toronto Condominium Corporation No. 1250 v. Mastercraft Group Inc, 2009 ONCA 584 (CanLII)
The Court of Appeal makes important rulings on the following interesting issues in this nightmare case over a conversion building:

1. When does a subsequent landowner become a “declarant”
2. Whether fixtures can be separated from common elements by the declarant and then leased to the condo corporation
3. What factors must be considered in determining whether a construction warranty is breached.
4. Whether the right to rent a parking spot is an easement appurtenant to each residential unit

Application for leave to appeal this case has been made to the Supreme Court of Canada [and dismissed].

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Here are some of the postings from our microblog over the past month.

RT @Assocpropmgt: Ancient Homeowner Association Rules from Smithsonian Magazine - http://bit.ly/4LGNGE

Innisfil (Ont) Journal: Big Bay Point Resort seeks conversion to special act corp; more “flexible” than condo corp - http://bit.ly/8S33sA

RT @habitatmag: Co-op / Condo Boards: An expert reveals: The Top 15 Mistakes New Board Members Make - http://tinyurl.com/yhye4dx

RT @ColoradoHOAGal: RT @tedleew: "Top 7 insane homeowners association rules - THE WEEK" http://j.mp/4wLhnD

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Another small amendment to our Condo Act came into force on December 15, 2009, this time by virtue of Bill 218, the Ontario Tax Plan for More Jobs and Growth Act, 2009.

Clause (b) of the definition of "eligible security" in subsection 115(5) of the Condominium Act, 1998 is amended to include certain financial instruments issued by institutions located in Ontario insured by the Deposit Insurance Corporation of Ontario ("DICO").

Subsection 115(5) now reads as follows (with amendment underlined):

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The Ontario Legislature passed Bill 212, the Good Government Act, 2009 on December 3, 2009.   The bill received Royal Assent with very little fanfare on December 15, 2009 and is now law.

This omnibus bill is intended to modernize statutes by correcting errors and plugging loopholes.  It also does the following things:

• makes minor amendments to almost every Ontario statute, mostly by updating language and terminology
• repeals a few outdated or ineffective statutes
• makes significant improvements to the City of Toronto Act, 2006 and the Municipal Elections Act
• legalizes the until-recently covert process of conducting criminal records checks on jurors
• replaces the old Public Inquiries Act with a new one

The bill also makes three minor amendments to the Condominium Act, 1998 and a few small consequential changes to related statutes.   Here is a brief description of the changes:

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Anyone still trying to circumvent Ontario’s anti-smoking laws by operating as a “private club” should consider this recent advice from our Court of Appeal: Don’t bother.

In Kennedy v. Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit, 2009 ONCA 685 (CanLII), the court upheld convictions against the operator of a Smith Falls sports bar who tried to operate the place as a private club. “Members” paid monthly dues of $4.00 and submitted application forms saying that they didn’t mind second-hand smoke. The “club” was reported as having more than 500 members.

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Nominations are being accepted for the 2009 Canadian Law Blog Awards (or “Clawbies”). These awards recognize the excellent work of legal professionals who share their insight and expertise with the world through a blog.

Details about the awards and the nomination process can be found here.

Here are my nominations for this year:

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November was a busy month for condo professionals in the Greater Toronto Area. The Annual Condo Conference was a great hit, as was ACMO’s pub night and monthly educational luncheon.

Here are some of the best condo-related posts from the blogosphere last month. Click the bolded titles to view the entries.

Buyers hit with big bills for surprise adjustments - Bob Aaron describes the despicable practice of a  condo developer that saddles new unit purchasers with charges of up to $11K as an adjustment for increases in a levy charged by municipalities but never actually incurred or paid by the developer. Buyer beware.

The Essential Ingredient in Effective Management of Community Associations - Lawyer Tyler Berding describes the players, their perspectives and a number of sensible tips for minimizing disputes in community associations.

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I've been using Twitter for the last few months as a way to quickly and easily share news I find in the news or blogosphere by posting a "tweet."   I can also  "re-tweet" interesting items posted in the media or by other condo or legal professionals.   

With a maximum limit of 140 characters per tweet, one has to choose words carefully, abbreviate where possible and, above all, be brief.  Each tweet will typically contain a single thought or concept.   This gives rise to the term "microblogging" which is discussed in Wikipedia here.

From time to time, I'll republish some of my microblog posts or "tweets" here on our main blog for you to enjoy.   These tweets will frequently contain links to other blogs or newspaper websites where you can read more details about the story, so be sure to click those links.  

We hope you enjoy this new feature.   Comments and newsflashes are always welcome.

Here are some of the recent microblog posts:

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