Our first collection of microblog entries for 2011 has plenty of great stuff to peruse leisurely while waiting for the snow to melt.

Those of you following along on Twitter might like to start watching for and using the following hashtags recently devised by some of the North American condo and HOA legal tweeters to help earmark pieces of special interest:

#condoHOAlaw for condo and HOA legal tidbits

#condoHOAmgt for condo and HOA management items

#condoHOA for general condo and HOA pieces

Hat tip (“H/T”) to Donna Berger (@CondoandHOALaw) for spearheading the search for the perfect hashtags!

Court/Tribunal Cases

BCCA: Condo owners can use Roberts Rules where legislation and bylaws do not provide general meeting procedures. http://ow.ly/3sfLB (RT @VPFranco) 

ONSC remains reluctant to intervene in internal affairs of non-profit organizations http://bit.ly/gN42pI. Good to see.

ONSC denies leave to appeal OMB decision allowing condo development that will forever change view of Ont. legislature: http://bit.ly/gkeo62

ONSC upholds condo lien for repair costs, orders removal of door locks, eviction of non-related tenants, costs of $41K: http://bit.ly/hZ5e89

Another condo asleep at the switch when Ont. Human Rights Tribunal comes knocking: Wake up, Simcoe Std Condo Corp 338: http://bit.ly/hyyOc4

HRTO decision: Condo board didn’t abide by settlement and provide human rights training. $1000 damages.  http://bit.ly/eABTjk

ONSC: Property manager liable for breach of trust and theft of condo corporation’s money. Claim vs. bank dismissed. http://bit.ly/fzsAbn

Continue Reading Microblog posts to 2/2/2011

A recent Toronto Star article by environment columnist Peter Gorrie kicks off in earnest the debate over retrofitting older condo buildings to allow residents to charge electric vehicles on site. Very few condominiums currently provide electrical hookups in their garage, which will be problematic if and when electric cars ever become popular.

Gorrie’s article focuses on his condo board’s explanation why electricity cannot be provided to the parking units other obvious problems with the concept of charging electric vehicles in condos. A number of options are raised together with the relative popularity of each. The article presents a good starting point to help get people thinking about this issue seriously.

Gorrie begins by making some common but incorrect assumptions that are worth correcting in order to provide condo directors and unit owners with the proper legal context needed to debate this topic intelligently.

Continue Reading Electric cars in condos: The debate begins

While it is routine for money to flow from condominium corporations to their managers for payment of regular management fees, there are few valid reasons for other such transfers. It is, for instance, completely improper for a management firm to “borrow” its clients’ funds to finance its own operations or to “lend” funds to its other condo clients.

A recent Ontario Superior Court decision highlights precisely such a scenario and brings several important lessons for condominium directors.

In 2005, York Region Condominium Corporation No. 890 (better known as Pacific Mall in Markham) brought a lawsuit for damages against its property manager, RPS Resource Property Services Ltd. (“RPS”) and William Garland (“Garland”) who was RPS’s principal, for breach of fiduciary duty, breach of trust, conspiracy, fraud and breach of their obligations under the Condominium Act, 1998.

The condo also named Royal Bank of Canada (“RBC”) and sought damages for breach of contract, negligence and conversion.

The trial took place over several days in June 2010 and the ruling was released this month. The full decision is now reported here. We will reproduce some of the highlights here, but time-starved readers can skip to the bottom to see the important lessons.

Continue Reading Property management firm liable for unauthorized money transfers

The federal government has just announced plans to tighten borrowing so as to help cap growing household debt and ensure the stability of the housing market. Changes announced today include requirements for larger down payments on purchases, shorter amortization periods on mortgages and a reduction of the maximum amount that can be borrowed against a home.

Notably absent from the today’s announcement is the more vigorous qualification requirement for condominium purchasers that was reported by the National Post on Thursday and again on Friday as an item under serious consideration. This measure relates to the debt ratio calculation used to qualify purchasers for CMHC-insured mortgages on condo units and called for the inclusion of 100% of the applicable condo common expense fees as part of the benchmark Total Debt Service formula, up from the current level of 50%. This change would make it more difficult for people to qualify for a loan to purchase a condominium unit. For an explanation of the mechanics of Total Debt Service formula and the impact of changing it, see this piece at the Canadian Mortgage Trends blog.

Continue Reading Why not include 100% of condo fees when qualifying borrowers?

2010 finished with a very strong showing by condo law bloggers on both sides of the 49th parallel. Here are some of the best posts from the last two months of the year. 

Judging from the quality entries over this period, you can bet that 2011 will give us a bumper crop of good stuff.

2010′s Top Condo & HOA News Stories — The Community Association Considerations blog looks back at the past year and highlights the top 10 issues facing condos and HOAs in the United States. 

How To Avoid Getting Taken Advantage Of When Comparing Landscaping Contracts — While most condos in Ontario are focussed on clearing snow at this time of year, now might be a good time to start thinking about how to make the grounds look fantastic without blowing the budget. Condo and HOA Living blogger Ryan Poliakoff shares some pointers to consider when signing the landscaping contract.

2011 New Year Resolutions for Boards — At this customary time of reflection and introspection, here are some New Year resolutions that community association and condo boards may want to consider, courtesy of the Colorado Homeowners Association Law Blog.

2011 New Year’s Resolutions for Community Associations — This January post on the Northwest Condo and HOA Law Blog is worth including at this point. Check out Daniel Zimberoff’s suggestions for eight (8) resolutions.

Association Governance Elsewhere — Now back from vacation, condo lawyer and blogger Donna DiMaggio Berger shares her observations on the not-so-subtle differences in condo law between Costa Rica and her native Florida. If you don’t mind the snow, Donna, you can visit us for a fact-finding mission up here in the great white north anytime!

When will a condominium board’s decisions be reviewed by the courts? — Condo directors are often told to be sensible in their decision-making, but what does that really mean? Bradley Chaplick lists the critical elements that will allow a decision-making body like a condo board to benefit from the “business judgment rule” established by Canadian courts.

Continue Reading Best of the blogosphere for November/December 2010

2010 Canadian Law Blog Awards Winner

The winners of the 2010 Canadian Law Blog Awards (the “CLawBies”) were announced on December 31, 2010.

We were thrilled that our blog won the CLawBie for Best Practice Group Blog of the year.  Here’s the blurb:

Best Practice Group Blog – This is a new award for 2011, meant to recognize the growing number of law firm practice group blogs in Canada. Our inaugural winner in this category is the Ontario Condo Law Blog, written by the lawyers at Gardiner Miller Arnold LLP. Led by editor Chris Jaglowitz, this blog regularly delivers a variety of original topics and interesting links. Not only does it make for engaging reading, but the firm always makes clear just how well it knows its niche topic (condominium law) and its audience (condo corporations in the Greater Toronto Area).

We are quite honoured to be named, considering the high calibre of the other award winners and the many other outstanding Canadian law blogs, both new and old. Be sure to check out all of this year’s CLawBie winners and also the listings at lawblogs.ca to find Canadian law blogs sorted by topic, province or category. There’s sure to be one of interest to you there.

Hat’s off to Steve Matthews and the rest of the judging panel for providing this great showcase of  law blogging in this country and for coming up with some interesting new award categories to highlight the expanding and maturing talent of Canadian lawyers in the blogosphere. We also salute all the other award winners as well as the finalists and nominees.

To you our readers, thanks for joining us and sharing your feedback this past year. As long as you keep reading and writing in, we’ll keep writing! Cheers. 

Ontario’s courts and tribunals were busy this past year with condominium matters. We reported on over 35 decisions on our microblog over the course of 2010.   Here are our picks for the top 10 cases of the year.

#10 — Lexington on the Green Inc. v. Toronto Standard Condominium Corporation No. 1930, 2010 ONCA 751

The Ontario Court of Appeal held that a condo corporation cannot use Condo Act s.112 to terminate an agreement for the corporation to purchase the superintendents’ unit from a developer where the obligation to enter into such an agreement is set out in the declaration.  This is a game-changing decision that can drastically affect a condo corporation’s finances.   According to Bob Aaron, new condo buyers must be extraordinarily careful in reviewing the disclosure materials and draft declaration before signing on the dotted line. Caveat emptor — Buyer beware.  

#9 — Essex Condominium Corporation No. 89 v. Glengarda Residences Ltd, 2010 ONCA 167

In another case dealing with disclosure, the Ontario Court of Appeal overturned a trial judge’s ruling that the condos’ developer failed to adequately disclose that the HVAC system serving the shared facilities was leased. The court then set aside the trial judge’s award of damages made under Condo Act 1990, s.52 (replaced by Condo Act 1998, s.133). While the disclosure statement did not reveal the terms of the lease, interest rate or cost of the equipment, it clearly revealed that the equipment was leased and gave what turned out to be a fairly accurate estimate of the cost. This was held to be sufficient disclosure that the HVAC equipment was not owned by the condo corporation. While it was challenged by the developer/appellant, the court upheld the earlier case of Wellington Condominium Corp. No. 61 v. Marilyn Drive Holdings Ltd., 1998 CanLII 2289, which is the leading case on false and misleading statements under the Condo Act.

#8 — McFlow v. Simcoe Condominium Corporation No. 27, 2010 ONSC 6260

A mortgagee’s bid to remove and replace the court-appointed administrator of a deeply troubled condo corporation was denied. The administrator was appointed a year earlier at the behest of that same mortgagee and while things were moving slowly, there was demonstrable improvement and no evidence of mismanagement as before. The test for removing a court-appointed administrator of a condominium is the same as the test for appointing one under Condo Act, s.131. 

Continue Reading Top 10 condo law cases of 2010

Just in case you need a break from holiday shopping, here’s some great reading we’ve collected on our microblog and have categorized here for your ease of browsing.

Follow me on Twitter for live feed.

Court / Tribunal Cases

ONSC: Status Certificate bars condo corp from requiring purchaser to restore interior wall to original condition. http://bit.ly/ggLYHj

ONSC: Unit owner can assess condo’s legal costs of enforcing declaration, by-laws, rules under Condo Act, s.135(4). http://bit.ly/9e98jV

ONCA: Board cannot use Condo Act s.112 to terminate obligation in declaration to buy a supers unit from developer. http://bit.ly/9AsHQJ

ONSC refuses mortgagee’s bid to replace the court-appointed administrator of a deeply troubled condo corporation. http://bit.ly/apO8t9

ONSC rejects developer’s scheme to avoid paying big judgment to Toronto #condo corp after 10 yrs of litigation. http://bit.ly/cTungB http://bit.ly/fuST2N

ONHRT to proceed with human rights case vs Peel Condo 766 w/o further notice unless their board acts fast. Wake up! http://bit.ly/9LpVC0

ABQB: Developer to pay common expenses for its condo units after claims over sweetheart deal and set-off rejected. http://bit.ly/huFi1a

ONCA slashes (from $900K to $50K) condo corp’s judgment vs roofing contractor over 1995 roof repair gone wrong. http://bit.ly/hmmOKg

Legal Commentary

Condo Act s.29: Directors can’t be incapable of managing property. When will court assess capacity? http://bit.ly/9qNvLc (@Megan_Connolly)

Condo insurance coverage has some special wrinkles – http://bit.ly/bzVZQV (@GlobeandMail)

Disclosure exposure? Only where condo developers misstate or omit material details in disclosure statements – http://bit.ly/bWTLFL

RT @califcondoguru New at CondoLawGuru: The Perils and Pitfalls of Running a Blog Against the Board http://bit.ly/bxSTeQ

Is privacy a "bogeyman?" Court awards no damages for breach of PIPEDA privacy rights.    http://bit.ly/fChwWp 

Continue Reading Microblog posts to 12/15/2010

With the end of 2010 in sight, nominations are now being accepted for the annual Canadian Law Blog Awards. The “CLawBies” recognize the work of Canadian legal professionals who share their insight and expertise with the world through a blog.

Details about the awards and the nomination process and previous winners can be found here. You can view all the nominations by searching #Clawbies2010 on Twitter.

For an authoritative list of Canadian law blogs, visit www.lawblogs.ca, where there’s sure to be something for everybody.

Here are my three nominations for the 2010 Clawbies, in no particular order:

Continue Reading My nominations for 2010 Clawbies

In a blog post last week entitled “Let’s put an end to phantom buyers,” Toronto Realtor Andrew la Fleur wrote an open letter calling for an end to a “significant problem” he describes as follows:

Phantom Buyers is a term that I have coined for buyers of pre-construction condos who are not really buyers. Usually what happens is this: when a new condo launches of any significance in the city, a large number of Realtors will camp out for several days to be first in line when the VIP broker event takes place. Many of the Realtors who are in the first several spots in the lineup do not have any actual clients who want to buy! These agents will buy units in their own name (usually the cheapest units available), and then they will use the 10-day rescission period to try to find an actual buyer to take the unit(s) they have ‘reserved’ in their name.

He then goes on to explain how those agents try to unload these units and then gives some reasons why the practice should be halted.

There are two problems with the passage above.

Continue Reading What is a “phantom buyer?”