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

Despite the hot weather and summer holidays, there was still some dynamite stuff in the blogosphere. Here are our picks for some of the best. 

Dispute Resolution Procedures for Condos & HOAs -- Lisa Magill of the Florida Condo & HOA Law Blog shares some tips to help turn common homeowner frowns upside down. J

The Potential for Huge Liability and Murphy’s Law -- Batten down the hatches! With natural and man-made disasters abound, the Community Associations Considerations Blog reminds us that not being prepared for the worst is not being prepared at all.

Failing To Obtain Regular Appraisals Can Hurt Associations After A Large Loss -- Florida lawyer Corey Harris observes that too many condominiums fail to regularly update their insurance appraisals.   Ontario condos should take heed – your pre-July 2010 appraisal is now 8% too low thanks to HST.

Down Economy Exacerbates Strife Within Community Associations -- Although lawyers can't reduce the economic difficulty facing homeowner associations and condos, Daniel Zimberoff at the Northwest HOA and Condo Law Blog has tips to help avoid unnecessary conflict within homeowner communities during tough times.

The Law of Insubordination -- Not sure when employee insubordination amounts to just cause for dismissal? Toronto labour and employment lawyer Michael Fitzgibbon summarizes the state of the law in this sometimes vexing legal area.  

How Does Subrogation Work? -- Chicago construction lawyer Joshua Glazov takes a crack at the answer and offers examples in both the insurance context and the construction financing setting.

The Condo Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI): What to Expect & Tips -- The bloggers at livehigh.com remind us that doing a proper PDI requires more than just checking if the unit has four walls, ceiling and floor. Take your time and be thorough!

Did we miss anything?  Let us know by submitting a comment below.

Happy Friday the 13^th.  Tell your building super not to walk under any ladders and remind owners to lock up their black cats for the day.

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Here, for your early summer reading pleasure, are some of the most thought-provoking pieces from the condo law blogosphere last month. 

Community Needs Cosmetic Surgery -- Mike Inman of the Virginia Condo & HOA Blog suggests a good thought process for boards to follow in deciding whether and how to conduct renovations at their complex.

How to Effectively Run a Board Meeting -- Are you looking for a way to shorten those agonizing board meetings that go nowhere and don’t end?   Try some of the tips offered by Ashley Yorra of Vial Fortheringham and bring order to chaos.

Can Owners View Draft HOA Meeting Minutes? -- The answer is not cut and dry, according to this article on LeClairRyan’s Virginia Community Association Law Blog.

When the Board Should Really Call the Association Attorney – Part I --In a two part series, Donna Berger provides helpful examples about when to call the lawyers. Part II is here.   Don’t be penny wise and pound foolish!

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This month’s best of the blogosphere collection contains a blend of the latest news, time-tested advice and some recurring issues.

The Gulf Oil Spill: Prepare for the Worst - Hope for the Best – John Cottle of the Florida Condo and HOA Law Blog offers tips to community associations in the areas affected by the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Embezzlement Prevention Strategies from Accountant Andrew Cohen – Seattle condo lawyer Kevin Britt posts some tips to help boards prevent fraud. This topic never gets tiresome, given the rising number of frauds being reported.

Fake Security Cameras - A Good Idea? – California condo law guru Beth Grimm takes a shot at this question.  

2010 Hurricane Preparedness Guide for Community Associations is Now Available!! – Just in time for hurricane season, the Community Advocacy Network of Florida has posted a sensible guide to preparing for disasters and how to respond to them. Some good ideas here to help batten down the hatches.

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The spring edition of GMA's quarterly Condo Alert! newsletter is ready.  

Topics include:

• Extricating individual directors and managers from human rights claims
• When does a condo lien cause slander of title? 
• Single family use provisions and the Human Rights Code
• Alterations: Stay or go?

Bonus feature: Discover the secret location where Bob Gardiner does his best work

Download a pdf copy here.

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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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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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Here is this months’ instalment of condo-related goodies from around the blogosphere.

Top 10 Issues for 2010 and Beyond…. – Here’s a list of issues that associations are going to face this year and in the near term, courtesy of the Community Association Considerations blog.

ROC Presidents Must Vote at Board Meetings – Florida law blogger Scott Gordon helps shatter the misconception that association presidents can’t vote and explains how Robert’s Rules of Order is often misinterpreted.

Elections in HOAs and Condos - Can the Board Endorse Candidates? – California condo law guru Beth Grimm tackles this issue head-on. 

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With spring nearly upon us, it's high time to unleash the winter edition of GMA's quarterly newsletter.   Enjoy it while sitting in the sunshine this week.

Major topics featured in this issue include:

• Condo mediation
• Workplace violence and harassment (Bill 168)
• Top 10 condo law cases of 2009
• Corporate Social Responsibility

Download a pdf copy here.

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For a short month filled with Olympic excitement (Yay Canada!), there was still plenty of great condo-related stuff in the blogosphere in February. 

Businesses should learn from 2010 Olympics surveillance camera debate -- Winnipeg privacy lawyer Brian Bowman emphasises the importance of having appropriate policies in place to manage the data recorded by surveillance cameras. If your condo has surveillance cameras, you need to implement proper written policies.

Association Driving You Nuts? – Take Out a Creepy Newspaper Advertisement -- Roger Wood of Arizona law firm Carpenter Hazlewood blogs about the slings and arrows hurled at HOA/condo boards and their professionals and offers some constructive suggestions to the malcontents who give “barbarians at the gate” a bad name.

Would a Condo and HOA Board Member Draft Solve Our Problems? -- Donna Berger debates condo conscription.    She also offers some important negotiation tips for community association members in Association Negotiations 101!

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In case you spent January at the gym or fulfilling other resolutions for the new decade, here is our mini-digest of noteworthy condo-related posts from the blogosphere last month.

Enjoy the Family Day long weekend!   

Records Retention: Going Paperless through E-Archives -- Paper is so passé! Marilyn Perez-Martinez of the Florida Condo & HOA Legal Blog describes some of the critical considerations in devising an electronic archive process for storing a condo’s records.  The key is in preparing a sound plan.

A Building Component does not become Common Area just because it was placed or built on the Common Area -- California HOA attorney David Swedelson blogs on a recent appellate case that sounds strikingly similar to our Court of Appeal’s ruling in Wentworth Condo Corp. 198 v. McMahon.   

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With the twenty-tens now well underway, let’s look back at some of the best of the condo-related blogosphere for the last month of the “aughts.”

New Year Resolutions for Boards – Colorado lawyer Molly Foley-Healy of the HOA Legi-Slate blog suggests three new years’ resolutions that any condo or HOA board should make. It’s not too late!

10 Tough Questions with Herman Turkstra - The Hamiltonian blog picks the brain of local institution, lawyer and former politician Herman Turkstra on Steeltown’s successes, failures and future.

How Much Are My Condo Fees Per Square Foot? – In a recently-launched blog called It’s a Condo Life, Oshawa property manager Tracey McLellan shines some light on how comparing common expenses of different buildings can be confusing.

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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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Here are the papers from the ACMO Legal Grab Bag luncheon held November 27, 2009.   

Click the bolded names of the authors to view the papers in PDF.   To save the files, right-click on the bolded names and "save as" onto your computer.

David Di Lella of Horlick Levitt on what constitutes an “addition, alteration or improvement.”

Marko Djurdjevac of Deacon, Spears, Fedson & Montizambert on altering common elements to accommodate persons with disabilities.

Karen Kisiel on the latest oppression remedy case.

Kevin Inwood of Heenan Blaikie on preventing workplace harassment and violence.

Michael Pascu of Fine & Deo on how to enforce the declaration and rules in tenancy situations.

You can download all of these papers in a single ZIP file here.

Thanks again to all of the speakers for taking the time to make such excellent presentations and to prepare these helpful papers.  

From all of us on the panel, thanks to everyone who came out today!   Contact any of us if we can be of help to you.

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Here is the latest edition of Gardiner Miller Arnold's Condo Alert! 

Topics covered in this issue include:

• The new Apology Act
• Increased limit of Small Claims Court jurisdiction
• Using consultants in CCDC-2 contracts
• Steps to guaranteed lien collection

This issue was distributed in the grab bag given to all attendees of the ACMO/CCI-T Condo Conference this past weekend.   Kudos to the conference organizers and participants for a well-organized, well-attended and brilliant conference!

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Most problems facing condominium corporations are either created or made more complicated by the simple fact that owners or directors (sometimes both) lack basic knowledge about the rights and responsibilities of the various stakeholders in the condo community.

This obstacle can be partly overcome in a number of ways. Here are four:

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From the many blog entries that might interest condo directors, owners and managers, here are some of the best of the past month.

Click the bolded titles below to read the entries.   Enjoy!

Do you know what your association attorney thinks of you? – Have you ever stopped to think about what your lawyer thinks of your condo and its board? Find out what's on the minds of the lawyers at Donna Berger's Florida law firm.

ROCs can use written rules to encourage civility at meetings – Scott Gordon of the Florida Resident-Owned Communities Law Blog suggests that passing rules to govern members’ conduct at annual meetings may be an appropriate way to deal with declining civility and courtesy.  Hear, hear!

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Here are some of the many interesting condo-related items from around the blogosphere last month.  Click the bolded titles to view the original entries.

Virginia homeowner may lose home because of failure to fund reserves – The HOA Legi-Slate blog of law firm HindmanSanchez in Colorado cites a heart-wrenching story of a condo board’s failure to properly fund its reserve leading to a special assessment of $15,000 per unit in order to raise the $2 million needed for emergency repairs. A recently laid-off unit owner stands to lose her home as a result. This piece contains helpful lessons for board members and for unit owners, who should remember that this scenario can easily happen anywhere, especially when directors are elected on the ever-popular (but foolish) "zero increase" platform.

How to pick the right attorney for your community – Florida HOA attorney and blogger Donna Berger gives some pointers on choosing lawyers that will best serve your community association. I say (with tongue-in-cheek) to select the firm with the best condo law blog!

Alzheimer’s Advance: 115-million by 2050 – Toronto trusts and estates lawyers Hull & Hull discuss a recent report pointing to an imminent explosion in Alzheimer’s cases around the world. Start asking how this trend will impact your condo and what you should do to prepare. Consider asking a local estates lawyer to give an info session to your residents on the importance of having their personal care affairs in order.

Illinois Manager Licensing FAQ – Ungated, the blog of the Community Associations Institute, reports that law has now passed regulating the property management profession in Illinois starting in January 2010. An FAQ page is presented. 

Aging in Place: A New Plan for the Suburbs? – In a rather futuristic piece, California lawyer Tyler Berding predicts the coming end of suburban neighbourhoods as we know them and suggests that aging condominiums and their residents may become the building blocks for a new way of living.

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Just in time for the first week of fall, the Summer 2009 edition of our Condo Alert! newsletter is now available here.  

Topics include:

• Altering common elements to accommodate disabilities
• Condo law in the context of international humanitarian law
• Limitations issues in construction deficiency cases

Stay tuned for the fall edition, which will be released just in time for the annual CCI/ACMO Condominium Conference in early November.  

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Condo unit owners and directors are often uninformed about their rights and responsibilities or about how condos work. This is largely due to a lack of comprehensive information online to address basic condo concepts.

A new website may help fill that void.

The Condo Information Centre (found at www.condoinformation.ca) was launched on June 30, 2009 by Anne-Marie Ambert, a retired university professor and condo director, who offers her knowledge of how condos work. Her site offers an impressive digest of original text and commentary on a number of topics, including:

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Check out the Spring 2009 issue of the GMA Condo Alert! newsletter.

Topics include:

• Directors' fiduciary duties
• Fair hearing of owner disputes
• Checking for easements
• Human rights cases dealing with pools

Click here to view the newsletter in PDF.

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Are you kicking yourself over a negotiation with a contractor, owner, or board member that could have gone a little better?   Are you looking to improve your bargaining skills?   

Check out The New Conflict Management: Strategies for Dealing with Tough Topics & Interpersonal Conflicts, a free report from Harvard Law School's Program on Negotiation.

Download that report and sign up for free tips by email here.

[Hat tip to Geoff Sharp at mediator blah...blah...]

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A property manager recently asked us how to tactfully approach a unit owner who shows poor hygiene habits (like hacking, sneezing and spitting) in and around the pool or sauna area. 

One simple approach we suggested was to print and display some of the handy posters distributed by local health units to promote "cover your cough" and proper hand washing techniques.

In these days of heightened pandemic alert, this type of information can help promote greater health awareness, reduce the spread of germs in common areas, minimize worker absenteeism and help us all breathe easier.

Posters, fact sheets and other flu resources are available from local health units and government agencies.  Click the links below to access them.

• City of Toronto
• Durham Region
• Peel Region
• Halton Region
• York Region
• City of Hamilton
• Province of Ontario
• Workplace Safety and Insurance Board

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The latest edition of Gardiner Miller Arnold's Condo Alert! newsletter is now available online. 

Topics include:

• Residential condo purchases commercial hotel operation
• Customer service standard imposes accessibility requirements
• Electronic status certificates
• Privacy Commissioner on the examination of condo records
• Signing condo service contracts
• GMA firm news

Click here to view the newsletter.

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One of the most common issues arising from people living in close quarters is the transmission of sound and noise.  At what point noise becomes a prohibited nuisance is one of the questions that plagues every condominium board and manager, and the answer varies from case to case and depends entirely on the circumstances.

It may sometimes be helpful to approach noise cases from a different angle.

Lawyer Dianne Saxe has written a short blog entry highlighting some of the issues in regulating noise through environmental law statutes and municipal by-laws.  The piece is of interest to condominium professionals since it is written from an environmental law perspective and cites evidence that "environmental noise" is harmful to health.  Links are provided to a number of resources that aren't often consulted in condo noise disputes.  

This short article may be of interest to anyone confronting the issue of noise and nuisance in condo settings or otherwise.  Read it here.

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Daily Commercial News reports that the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (an agency of the federal government) has launched a new online course to help organizations of any size develop their own OH&S program.

This new course adds to the Centre's lineup of over 40 "e-Courses" that are offered over the Internet and require as little as an hour to complete.   Students achieving 80% or better on the final online exam earn a certificate of completion.   These e-Courses are developed by experts, reviewed by government and cover a variety of occupational health and safety topics.  Some of the available courses that may be of interest to condo property managers and directors include:

• Accident Investigation
• Confined Space Management
• Emergency Response Planning
• Health & Safety for Office Managers
• Ladder Safety
• Pandemic Planning
• Preventing Falls from Slips and Trips
• WHMIS

In addition to the e-Courses (a few of which are free), the Centre's website contains valuable resources on all aspects of occupational health and safety.  Check it out.

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With the avalanche of information available online, we all need to maximize, optimize and organize the flow of essential information while minimizing the time and hassle needed to review it.  

The solution is so simple:  If you're following more than one blog or want to receive updates from one or more websites, all without clogging up your email box and without wasting time visiting multiple websites, you need to use Google Reader, period.

Learning to use Reader is a snap.   Detailed information is readily available from Google's Reader Help Center or see the Google Reader Help Channel on YouTube where you will find helpful step-by-step videos.  Or take the Google Reader Tour!

Expand your brain and stay cutting-edge current with developments while maximizing your efficiency.

Happy Google reading.  

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Toronto lawyer Dianne Saxe, one of Canada’s foremost environmental law practitioners, has posted a short but thoughtful blog entry on indoor air quality in homes.

After suggesting that indoor air quality (IAQ) in homes is significantly under-regulated, she goes on and:

• Identifies the most common indoor air pollutants;
• Outlines the problems arising from poor IAQ;
• Describes existing Canadian guidelines that may apply;
• Provides tips to improve IAQ; and
• Offers links to resources.

This is worthwhile reading for anyone seeking a crash course in indoor air quality. Check it out.

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The Institute of Chartered Accounts of Ontario has announced the release of an important document entitled Accounting and Auditing Guidelines for Ontario Condominium Corporations.

This publication is the first major revision of the Institute’s audit guidelines for condominium corporations since 2001 and incorporates recent changes in accounting practice and the requirements of the Condominium Act, 1998. According to the Institute:

The result is a comprehensive guide that promotes best practices for the industry. It details considerations for both accounting and audits that range from budgeting and financial statements to tax issues and reserve funds.

Members of the committee that drafted these guidelines include the most prominent auditors on the local condo scene. Most have audited the books of hundreds of condo corporations and face the unit owners at dozens and dozens of annual general meetings each year. These folks know their stuff. 

This guide will be a valuable resource for any condominium manager, director, unit owner or professional who wants to better understand accounting principles and best practices for audit procedures for Ontario condominium corporations.  In addition to being written in no-nonsense plain English, it also includes a preferred specimen presentation for financial statements.

The full document is available for free download here.

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Education for condo directors and owners has become increasingly important.    

Regardless of their experience, any condominium director, prospective director or interested unit owner should seriously consider taking one or more of the excellent courses offered by the various chapters of the Canadian Condominium Institute.  

The following message from the Toronto and Area Chapter of CCI describes their course offerings for January and February.     

Sign up today.   This small investment will pay for itself in spades.

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I follow a large number of blogs to help expand my knowledge of the world, stay current with news and trends in my law practice and business, and enhance my skills as a lawyer, entrepreneur and human being. While there is no shortage of blogs out there, it is not always easy to find blogs that are on point or have the right focus to fit the bill.

Check out the Canadian Law Blog Awards ("the CLawBies").  Organized by Steve Matthews, a law firm consultant, law librarian and blogger, the CLawBies showcase some of the remarkable talent in the Canadian legal blogosphere each year. 

Nominations for this year’s CLawBies are being accepted from law bloggers.  Full details on how to participate are  here. 

I am delighted to add the following as my picks, in no particular order:

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By popular demand, a PDF version of the premiere edition of our Condo Alert! newsletter is now available for your online viewing pleasure.

Topics  include:

• Trademarking your condo name
• The new human rights regime
• Clotheslines and clothestrees
• GMA firm news

We also offer an answer to this age-old question: “How may lawyers does it take to stop traffic in downtown Toronto on a Friday afternoon?” See page 4.

Click here to view the newsletter now.

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