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

With only a month before the dreaded HST kicks in, Warren Ragoonanan offers a more positive take on the looming new tax.

Let us know what you think.  Submit a comment using the form at the bottom of the page.

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The Harmonized Sales Tax, which comes into effect on July 1, 2010, may be a cause for concern for consumers, including condo corporations. The HST combines the 5% GST and the 8% PST into a single tax, which means that many consumer goods and services that were PST-exempt will now be subject to the higher 13% tax. 

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CCI-Toronto is offering some interesting and useful seminars at very modest cost in the coming days.   Condo directors and unit owners looking to increase their knowledge should attend!  

Details and registration info is online.

If you're outside Toronto, consult your local CCI chapter for events near you.

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Lots of stuff from our microblog over the past month.  Here are some of the juiciest entries to enjoy over the long May weekend:

ONSC: Occupant ordered to remove pets from condo unit and pay $19K in costs. Ouch! http://bit.ly/9VALIa

Stupidity by condo board. RT @canetwork: FL: Insurance Canceled (to save money) at Condos Destroyed by Fire - http://bit.ly/9BfQfW

RT @calinambrus: Condo board lords. Each condo has one, and you know what they say: If you can't beat them, join them: http://ow.ly/1Hzjk

RT @NewlovelyPets: Baltimore condo board considers dog DNA testing to catch culprits neglecting to scoop dog poop:http://bit.ly/bVAIoD

Rebuild/repair planned for burned-out condo - $28K deductible per unit req'd for entire rebuild: http://bit.ly/axTbiB (via @metrocalgary)

RT @MortonsMusings:  Litigation as an elaborate game of chicken: http://bit.ly/cEoanW

With just 2 months until #HST Day, he tells the truth - HST will hit family budget, McGuinty admits:  http://bit.ly/atB8oH (@TorontoStar)

RT @condobusiness: @deanmccabe, reg'l manager for Brookfield Residential talks about the impact of HST for condos: http://bit.ly/bexKnx

From HST Blog: Landlords Not Happy about HST and are Asking Tenants to Leave: http://bit.ly/ajVQoG

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The G20 Summit will take place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in downtown Toronto on Saturday, June 26 and Sunday, June 27.

Word on the street is that demonstrations and disruptions related to the event will take place from June 21 to 28 in various parts of the city. These activities are expected to cause pedestrian and vehicle traffic delays, interruptions to public transit and GO Train service, road closures and possible PATH closures. In addition, access within the security zones will be severely restricted.

Today's Toronto Star reports about the uncertainty faced by the one and only residential condo that will be within the actual security cordon and the likely restrictions those residents will have to face in order to get home after work. 

My firm’s home base is in a highrise office tower on Bay Street around Queen, which is at the north end of the financial district and just a couple blocks north of the likely extent of the security cordon. In anticipation of the excitement later next month, our landlord recently circulated a memo with the following advice to tenants:

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It's time once again to sample some of the best condo-related news from the blogosphere.

Spring has different meanings to different people – With winter behind us, it’s time to get to work on the year’s maintenance and reacquaint yourself with your neighbours.   Hats off to the Community Associations Network blog for some pleasant seasonal tips!

Owner posts website about his HOA problems and gets sued – The title says it all.   Check out the story and follow the links to the offending website to see what all the noise is about and whether you can get to the bottom of the million dollar question... oops, I mean “lawsuit.”

Proper Protocol for a Board’s Use of Emails – Everybody and their brother uses email these days and condo boards are no exception. Donna Berger offers some practical guidelines to avoid typical problems arising from condo boards use of email.

Condos/HOAs Have a Lot to Lose if Design Professional Protection Bills Become Law – Imagine if you couldn’t sue architects, engineers or surveyors if their negligence affects your condo.  That nightmare scenario may come true in Florida if legislators don’t give their heads a good shake. Sanjay Kurian sounds the alarm.   

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Like most people attending PM Expo Springfest at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on April 28, I was a little surprised by the strong police presence both outside and inside the facility. It turns out that the extra security was for the Barrick Gold shareholders’ meeting taking place that morning in the conference hall next to ours.

Anyhow, there was an excellent turnout of over 1,500 property managers and condo directors, all of whom probably felt much safer knowing that this huge police detachment could probably protect us from any unhappy condo unit owners ready to riot over the carpet pattern chosen for the corridor refurbishment project in their buildings.

I was lucky to sit on an all-star panel sponsored by CCI-Toronto to talk about “What’s Right and What Needs Improvement in the World of Condos” from the perspectives of four different segments of the condo industry. Here’s a recap of some key takeaway points from the speakers:

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