The Condo Authority Tribunal’s decision in Rahman v. PSCC 779 is the first of its kind under the Tribunal’s expanded jurisdiction. The case provides a strong warning against condos seeking to unilaterally impose costs against unit owners.
The Tribunal held that it had authority to hear this matter – a dispute concerning parking and indemnification
Approximately two months have passed since the CAT’s jurisdiction expanded beyond condo record requests to include disputes regarding, pets, parking, vehicles and storage and chargebacks related to such issues. However, the CAT has yet to release a decision dealing with these new topics. It may take some time for cases involving expanded jurisdiction issues to wind through the CAT’s online dispute resolution system. In the meanwhile, enjoy Part 2 of our deep dive into record disputes (Part 1, here).
Continue Reading Key take-aways from the CAT’s record request decisions – Part 2
New Standard Form of Lease
Effective April 30, 2018, landlords of private residential rental units, including condominium units, are required to use a new mandatory form of residential tenancy agreement for all new tenancies (the “Form”). You can download a copy of the Form on the government’s website: http://www.forms.ssb.gov.on.ca
Continue Reading The New Standard Form of Lease and Condo-specific Additional Terms
For ease of reference, here are links to both “fillable” (for completing electronically) and “printable” (for completing by hand) versions of the most relevant forms. The rest can be found on the government’s website, though it’s not easy to identify or find the right form.
The fillable version of the forms have hidden boxes and information that only appear when you select certain options. Therefore, if you intend to print out the forms and complete them by hand, please use the printable version of the forms, which display every hidden item. Be sure to save the file when completing the fillable version of the forms to preserve your changes after closing.
You need Adobe Reader 8 or higher to view the fillable version of the forms. If you are having difficulties viewing the fillable version of the forms, try opening them in Internet Explorer. The Ministry even released an email with instructions on how to view the forms.
Continue Reading Links to new prescribed Condo Act forms
I
t is well known that condominiums owe a duty to accommodate persons with disabilities. It is less clear, however, what constitutes adequate proof of a disability. Ambiguous medical notes containing no meaningful details are often the only documentation given to condo boards and managers, who must decide whether the legal threshold for disability is met.
Thankfully, the Ontario Human Rights Commission recently clarified this issue. On February 1, 2017, it released a new policy statement on medical documentation to be provided when disability-related accommodation requests are made.
Continue Reading Accommodating disabilities: What medical evidence is required?
This year marked the 20th anniversary of the annual ACMO/CCI-Toronto Condominium Conference. Taking place from November 11-12, 2016, the theme of this year’s conference was “Shaping the Future”.
With the regulations under the amended Condo Act expected to be rolled out in the coming year, the condo industry has reached a pivotal juncture in its evolution. The education sessions offered at the conference focused on fundamental changes that will shape the condo world over the next several years, with topics such as the use of technology in condo living and condo dispute resolution taking front stage. It is vitally important to keep abreast of industry developments, and part of that entails learning as much as you can from industry leaders and experts.
Here are some of the key takeaways from the conference education sessions I attended this year. I have broken down each session into subsections based on the nature of the topics discussed.
Continue Reading Key takeaways from the 20th annual condo conference
Section 135 of the Condominium Act, 1998 (the “Act”) gives unit owners, condo corporations, declarants and mortgagees the right to bring applications against one another for relief against conduct that is or threatens to be oppressive or unfairly prejudicial to the applicant or unfairly disregards the interests of the applicant.
Where a court finds the existence of oppressive conduct, it may make any order it deems proper, including an order prohibiting the conduct and an order requiring payment of compensation.
Continue Reading Oppression remedy cases – 2015 in review
T
he Ontario government recently introduced Bill 132, Sexual Violence and Harassment Action Plan Act (Supporting Survivors and Challenging Sexual Violence and Harassment), 2015. This bill follows the government’s March 2015 action plan to reduce sexual violence and harassment.
Bill 132 is an omnibus bill that, if passed, amends six Ontario statutes with
The 19th annual ACMO/CCI Condominium Conference was held November 13-14, 2015 in Toronto. Over 1,600 attendees (including condo owners, directors, property managers, lawyers and other industry members) took the opportunity to network, meet exhibitors for updates on the latest condo products and services, attend professional development sessions and learn from industry experts.
Over two days, the conference ran various breakout sessions on a wide array topics including proposed changes to Ontario’s Condominium Act (“the Act”), insurance, manager relations and governance and others that impact the more than 1.3 million condominium residents in Ontario.
Here are some of the key takeaways from the sessions I attended.
Continue Reading Key takeaways from 19th annual condo conference