Posted on November 17, 2011 by Chris Jaglowitz

GMA Condo Alert! (2011 Condo Conference edition)

Each of the 1,000+ attendees at the spectacular ACMO/CCI-T Condominium Conference earlier this month received a complimentary copy of the Conference Edition of our Condo Alert! newsletter in their delegate bag.

In case you missed the conference, you can pick up this special edition newsletter (in pdf) here or by clicking the picture on the right. 

Topics include:

  • Tendering
  • Hoarding in condo units
  • Human rights vs. Health and safety in pools

Our thanks to everyone who attended the educational sessions hosted by GMA lawyers or who stopped to chat with any of us on the conference floor.  We were thrilled to see so many friends (old and new) and we're already looking forward to next year.  

Tags: , ,
Posted on September 26, 2011 by Chris Jaglowitz

Unravelling the mystery of mediation - this year at the condo conference!

Early bird registration for the annual CCI/ACMO Condominium Conference ends this Friday, September 30, 2011. Act fast to get preferred pricing for the 15th edition of this country’s preeminent condominium event.

The theme of this year’s conference, to be held November 4-5 in Toronto, is “Living in Balance: Corporation & Community.”

In the weeks leading up to the conference, work continues on putting together over a dozen educational sessions covering a spectacular array of issues that confront condominium corporations each day. Even as we speak, your faithful scribe is preparing to moderate one of those sessions, described as follows:

Condo Mediation – Unravelling the Mystery

Is mediation a waste of time or is it a critical tool for solving disputes in your community? Decide for yourself after engaging our interactive panel, sharing your views, hearing others’ experiences and learning about:

*  Mediation explained;
*  When mediation can be used;
*  Pros and cons; and
*  Reaching better settlements.

Joining me to answer these and other pertinent questions about are condo mediators Colm Brannigan, Jennifer Bell and Marko Djurdjevac. Our goal is to deliver a whirlwind program offering non-legalistic commentary on what seems like a mysterious process that is often tossed aside in the rush to get into court and vanquish the opposing side.

Before we finalize the program, we're interested to hear whether we can help address questions on your mind. Consider, for instance:

  • What specifically would you like to hear about on the topic of condo mediation?
  • If you haven't participated in mediation before, what would you need to know before deciding to mediate a case?
  • Do you think that some types of cases better lend themselves to mediation than others?
  • What role do your lawyers play in selecting the process for resolving disputes?

For those of you who have participated in condo mediation before:

  • What would you tell a fellow property manager or condo director to help them navigate their own mediation case?
  • What have you learned about mediation that didn’t come from your lawyers?
  • Was there a part of the process that you didn't understand?
  • What is one thing you wished you knew about mediation before walking into the room?

Your ideas, questions and comments will help us deliver a snappier, sharper session that will give you a better grip of this often-misunderstood topic and, with luck, another tool to help solve disputes in your condo community.  Feel free to post your response as a comment to this blog entry or email them to me.

Thanks in advance for your input, and be sure to register to attend our session at the condo conference!
Tags: , , ,
Posted on November 10, 2010 by Chris Jaglowitz

GMA Condo Alert! (2010 Condo Conference Edition)

Attendees at last week's spectacular ACMO/CCI-T Condominium Conference received in their delegate bag a complimentary copy of the Conference Edition of Gardiner Miller Arnold's Condo Alert! newsletter. 

In response to popular demand, we're now releasing this special edition to the public.  

Topics include:

  • PIPEDA compliance
  • Booting out owners for extreme behaviour
  • Prostitution laws
  • Parallel proceedings under Condo Act and Human Rights Code
  • Special bonus feature: The coolest condo-related Wordle ever seen!

Click the picture at right or this link to view/download the pdf version for yourself or to share with others.

Tags: , ,
Posted on November 1, 2010 by Chris Jaglowitz

See you at the condo conference!

Don’t miss the 14th Annual CCI-T/ACMO Condominium Conference this Friday and Saturday (November 5-6, 2010) at the Hilton Suites Toronto/Markham.  

In addition to the excellent educational seminars and trade show, this important national event features the annual general meeting of the Canadian Condominium Institute and its national awards banquet dinner.  Condo unit owners, directors, managers and professionals from coast to coast will be on hand.

I am excited to be speaking on how to build responsible digital communities.  Be sure to attend this super session to find out how to make best use of social media tools and avoid pitfalls and traps while enhancing communication at your condo.

Mark Arnold is moderating a panel on condo mediation and arbitration in human rights disputes, which is becoming an increasingly hot topic.

Bob Gardiner will be moderating the ever-popular Ask the Experts panel on Saturday afternoon.

Saturday's keynote speaker is Major-General (Ret.) Lewis Mackenzie, one of our country's most notable peacekeepers. Not to be missed.

Gardiner Miller Arnold is proud to be a Silver sponsor of the conference once again, and all of us from GMA will be there. Take a moment to stop any of us and say hello! If you don’t know us by sight, see our mugshots here so that you will recognize us. We look forward to meeting you.

The details for Mark's program and mine are below, but visit www.condoconference.ca to view the full conference program, exhibitors list and registration details.

See you there!

 

Session: 3C - Friday at 2:15 p.m: Building Responsible Digital Communities

Moderator: Dean McCabe, Brookfield Residential Services Ltd.
Speakers:
Darryl Deen, D-Tech Consulting
Chris Jaglowitz, Gardiner Miller Arnold LLP
Denise Lash, Heenan Blaikie LLP

Join us as we explore the benefits and the pitfalls of using technology to increase communications in the condominium community. New technologies including Twitter, Facebook, discussion forums, condominium websites and blogs can make your management more effective, your board aware of owner's concerns and your owners and residents better informed about the environment in which they live. In this session we will discuss how to reap all of these benefits while still protecting the privacy of residents and understanding the legal implications and liabilities of using this technology.

 

Session: 4A - Saturday at 10:45 a.m.: Mediation and Arbitration - Condomunium / Human Rights

Moderator:  Mark Arnold, Gardiner Miller Arnold LLP
Speakers: 
Gary M. Caplan, LLB., Mediator / Arbitrator, McCague Peacock LLP
Steven D. Hill, RCM, Vice-President - Condominium Division, Canlight Hall Management Inc.
Christian Vernon, Lawyer, Pinto Wray James LLP

Many disagreements between unit owners and condominium corporations have a human rights
component often involving handicap or family status issues. Condominium disagreements must be mediated and arbitrated under the Condominium Act, 1998. Human Rights Complaints are subject to procedures provided for in the Human Rights Code which also include mediation and arbitration. These procedures often overlap and there is uncertainty as to the best way to proceed when a corporation is confronted with a disagreement or complaint under both legal regimes.

This session will review mediation and arbitration process and procedure under the Condominium Act 1998 and the Ontario Human Rights Code.

A panel of legal and property management experts will also review, as a case study, the recent settled case, “Tinkerbell The Dog” who moved into a Toronto condominium building designated by its Declaration as “No Animals Permitted”.
Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted on November 12, 2009 by Chris Jaglowitz

GMA Condo Alert! (Autumn 2009 edition)

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!

Tags: , ,
Posted on November 4, 2009 by Chris Jaglowitz

See you at the condo conference!

Don’t miss the 13th Annual CCI-T/ACMO Condominium Conference this Friday and Saturday (November 6-7, 2009) at the Hilton Suites Toronto/Markham.

Be sure to come to the Aging in Place seminar (session 1C on Friday morning at 10), where lawyer Denise Lash, property manager Janice Pynn, consultant Sharon Snitman and I will focus on accommodating the needs of aging condo residents. Find out what steps property managers and condo boards must take to accommodate the coming boom of aging condo dwellers and learn what you should do to prepare.

Bob Gardiner will be moderating the Condo Law Update SuperSession on Saturday at noon. Don’t miss it!

Gardiner Miller Arnold is proud to be a sponsor of the conference once again, so all of us from GMA will be there.  Take a moment to stop any of us and say hello!  If you don’t know us by sight, visit this page to view our photos so that you will recognize us.   We look forward to meeting you.

Visit www.condoconference.ca for detailed program, exhibitors list and registration details.

See you there!

Tags: , , ,
Posted on November 2, 2009 by Chris Jaglowitz

Education is often the key to solving condo problems

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:

First, your corporation should engage the services of a professional property management firm. One of the main functions of any reputable management firm is to direct their collective skill, knowledge and experience to solving a host of problems or disputes in a condominium setting. In selecting a management firm, start with those that have earned or are working towards the ACMO 2000 certification. This designation is conceptually similar to the well-known ISO-9001 certification and consists of measurable minimum standards of performance and service. The ACMO 2000 certification is administered by the Condominium Management Standards Council at the Association of Condominium Managers of Ontario (“ACMO”).

Second, insist that your on-site manager possess or be working towards the Registered Condominium Manager (“RCM”) designation. This designation, administered by ACMO, is granted to individuals who have achieved a minimum two years’ experience in condominium property management and have successfully completed a comprehensive educational program covering administration, condo law, physical building management and financial planning. The condo board is often only as knowledgeable as its front-line manager. Make sure yours is well-qualified.

Third, your corporation and unit owners can (and should!) take advantage of the excellent educational courses offered by your local chapter of the Canadian Condominium Institute. Here in Toronto, the local CCI chapter has a full slate of courses of various lengths on a number of practical topics for condo directors, owners and even prospective purchasers. It would be ideal for every condominium director and owner to take some of these courses.   The small cost of these courses is insignificant when you consider the fact that most condominiums are million-dollar operations that directly and significantly impact the lives of their unit owners.  

Fourth, managers, directors and owners should consider and explore other educational opportunities, such as:

Having professional management and a well-educated board and membership will go a long way towards avoiding or minimizing the most commonly encountered disputes and problems.  
Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted on August 27, 2009 by Chris Jaglowitz

Program announced for 2009 Condo Conference

Program details have been announced for the 13th annual ACMO / CCI Condo Conference, to be held November 6-7, 2009 at Hilton Suites Toronto/Markham.

Save the date now and plan to attend. Topics include:

  • The ABCs of Tarion
  • Working with challenging people
  • Insurance
  • Board conduct and ethics
  • Annual condo lawyers update panel ... Not to be missed
  • ...and more!

I am looking forward to speaking at the “Aging in Place” session where a property manager, interior decorator and I will focus on why your condominium should accommodate aging residents and how to do that effectively.

Visit www.condoconference.ca for program, speaker, exhibitor and sponsor information and on-line registration.

Register by September 30 for early bird pricing and to buy four registrations and get one free.

Tags: ,
Posted on November 1, 2008 by Chris Jaglowitz

Caselaw Roundup from 2008 ACMO/CCI Condo Conference

The 12th Annual Condominium Conference, held this past Friday and Saturday in Markham, was a great success and very-well attended.   Congratulations to CCI-Toronto and ACMO!

Among the most anticipated regular features of this conference is the legal expert panel, with their bizarre stories from the trenches and headscratcher court cases.   This year's panel, including our own Mark Arnold, did not disappoint us. 

Here are some of the cases highlighted by the panel this year:

Mancuso v. York Condominium Corp. No. 216, 2008 CanLII 20343 (ON S.C.)

Bulk cable TV costs can be treated as common expenses and recovered by way of a lien only where a by-law authorizes the board to supply such services and authorizes the cost  to be treated as common expenses.

Niagara North Condominium Corp. No. 125 v. Kinslow, 2007 CanLII 49188 (ON S.C.)

This case to enforce a "no pets" clause in a condo declaration was rendered by the same judge that decided 215 Glenridge Ave. Ltd. v. Waddington, 2005 CanLII 4197 (ON S.C.), where the court mixed up the hierarchy of declaration/by-laws/rules and consequently gave a perverse result that blurred the established caselaw for enforcement applications.   Having received better legal arguments in the Kinslow case, the court identified and applied the correct legal test and enforced the no-pets provision.   The highly-problematic Waddington case is now effectively expunged. 

Metropolitan Toronto Condominium Corp. No. 1143 v. Peng, 2008 CanLII 1951 (ON S.C.)

A unit owner's failure to respond to demand letters or to mediation or arbitration proceedings in a rule enforcement case does not permit a corporation to proceed directly to court for a compliance order.   Mediation and arbitration must first be exhausted if available.  A similar case is York Region Condominium Corp. No. 890 v. 1185010 Ontario Inc., 2007 CanLII 44831 (ON S.C.).

Assal v. Halifax Condominium Corp. No. 4, [2007] N.S.H.R.B.I.D. No. 2 (NS H.R.B.)

Condo corporation seeks removal of satellite dish installed by unit owner on non-exclusive use common elements without authorization and contrary to by-laws.   Owner responds by making a human rights complaint, alleging that the satellite is necessary to provide religious and cultural education for the owner's family, and that the restrictive by-law is discriminatory as to religion and and ethnic/national origin. The complaint was dismissed for lack of evidence of discrimination.

Italiano v. Toronto Standard Condominium Corp. No. 1507, 2008 CanLII 32322 (ON S.C.)

Confirms the power of arbitrators to award successful corporations their full indemnity costs for arbitration proceedings in rule enforcement cases and for corporations to recover such costs as common expenses. That power might be more limited, however, if the declaration and by-laws do not contain strong indemnity provisions.   Arbitrators may not award costs in respect of pre-arbitration proceedings such as mediation or the initial demands for compliance.

Tags: , ,