To help you sift through the newsy stuff more quickly, we have started to sort the entries by region:

  1. Ontario
  2. Canada
  3. International

Remember that this is only a smattering of what’s published online each day and represents what we think to be the more interesting pieces. Consider following some of the providers cited below to get news and commentary more suited to your particular interests, or follow me on Twitter to get real-time updates.  

Ontario

Almost municipal election season in Ontario. Condo Act sec 118 allows candidates to canvas in condos – http://bit.ly/ayfZCG (yourhome.ca)

The verdict from the Toronto mayoral debate at Canadian Condominium Institute today:  http://bit.ly/bp2CsU (thestar.com) #voteTO

RT @RyanTotesau: Condo City – What does this mean for Toronto’s singles?  http://tinyurl.com/37c8mdp

Brantford condo owners praise city for good municipal services: http://bit.ly/b089b1 (via @BrantNews)

Condo board botches fire system upgrade; owners steamed. Ottawa condo owners raise alarm: http://bit.ly/9oSLyV

OHSA charges laid against contractor & supplier in Xmas Eve platform collapse that killed 4 workers  http://bit.ly/aVPpDk. Hattip: @lisastam

Hamilton changes rules to let condos apply for financial grants to restore historical buildings:  http://t.co/caOf96C (via @thespec)

Another case of board failing to communicate with owners. Condo residents back former superintendent: http://t.co/sQcOdH2 (@OttawaCitizen)

Dumb. Why not focus on going forward? Ottawa: Fight to reinstate condo superintendent continues:  http://bit.ly/9zoIlR

Survey will reveal that people don’t know what they’re buying into. RT @nationalpost: Condo can’t-do http://natpo.st/9xmcHk

Owners at Hamilton converted condo hit with $10K special assessments to repair concrete in garage  http://bit.ly/aPbT8D (via @TheSpec)

Sour grapes for being asleep at the switch? Owners of Toronto condo under court administration to stage rally: http://bit.ly/d55kXJ

RT @condobusiness City of #Toronto recognizes Brookfield energy reduction initiatives http://bit.ly/9vXQVF

Continue Reading Microblog posts to 9/30/2010 – News/Commentary

It’s been two long months since we’ve featured the best of our twitterfeed, so a lot of great material has accumulated. In order to break this stuff down into digestible bites, we’ll divide it into three separate posts, sorted by category.  

Due to popular demand, we plan to use at least three standard categories to help busy condo folk and profeessionals focus on the microblog items of greatest interest to them.  Our first categories are: 

  1. Court and Tribunal Decisions
  2. News and Commentary
  3. Tips and Cool Stuff

Further categories will be added as appropriate.  Your tips and comments are always welcome.

Without further ado, let’s start with court and tribunal decisions from around Ontario and across Canada.

Court/Tribunal Decisions

Despite the beautiful weather this summer, lawyers, courts and tribunals have been hard at work. The proof is in the number of condo-related decisions released since July 30. Here are some of the best.

Continue Reading Microblog posts to 9/30/2010 – Court/Tribunal Decisions

As we enter the final four weeks leading up to the Toronto municipal election, the sparks are about to fly in the mayoral campaign.

While this year’s race for mayor has been one of the most interesting in recent history, 36% of voters are still undecided and no one knows much about the candidates’ positions when it comes to the issues that affect condo unit owners specifically.

Issues like garbage fees, municipal taxation rates, city services and future development policies directly and specifically affect the lives and finances of condo dwellers in our city. Why these kinds of issues aren’t front and centre in the mayoral campaign is baffling, since Toronto is home to over 2,100 condo corporations containing tens of thousands of units and hundreds of thousands of voters. The candidates should be ready to take notice and address these issues that face the condo-dwelling electorate and explain why they deserve your vote.

Luckily, the Toronto Chapter of the Canadian Condominium Institute is holding a special debate focused on condo-related issues. All the major candidates will attend. Come out and make sure these guys know for sure that condo unit owners want their voices to be heard.

When:  Thursday, September 30, 2010 at 2:00
Where: Novotel North York Hotel, 3 Park Home Avenue, Toronto
Why:      Find out who understands and can properly address condo issues
Cost:     Free, but you must register now!

A number of special condo-related questions will be put to each of the candidates and questions may be taken from the floor. Better yet, submit your own questions in writing when you register today. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to find out which candidates understand the needs of condo unit owners and who deserves your vote.

Update (10/16):  Visit CCI-Toronto’s site here to see the questions and hear a recording of the candidates’ answers!

As the season changes and we resume normal work hours, our quarterly newsletter returns with new tidbits of useful info.

Topics in this edition include:

  • Why condos need legal advice about warranty claims
  • New defence to defamation lawsuits 
  • Workplace violence risk assessments for condos
  • Firm news, including our speaking engagements this fall

Download your pdf copy here.

With the last vestiges of summer now disappearing, it’s time to highlight some of the more notable condo-related entries from the blogosphere in August.

City Smoking Ordinances – Do They Apply to HOAs? – California condo lawyer Beth Grimm asks the tough question and raises the possibility that cities may be able to take the lead and provide a good example for condos to follow. In a related post, Beth responds to reader feedback on the question of Smoking in Units Okay … Or Not?

Present a Budget That Actually Means Something (and might actually get read) – Joe at the Community Associations Considerations blog explains why most budgets don’t strike a chord with owners. He then offers some creative suggestions and a neat specimen worth looking at. Who says budgets have to be dull, dreary and uninformative?

Upstairs, Downstairs – Among the most common complaints of unit owners are noises made from neighbouring units that are transmitted through walls or ceilings. Lawyer Paul Windust suggests some strategies for dealing with these sorts of noise complaints on his firm’s California Condo Issues blog.

Continue Reading Best of the blogosphere for August 2010

The forced sale of a condo unit is among the most drastic remedies a court can order on an application to compel an owner’s compliance with the Condo Act or with the declaration, by-laws or rules of a condominium corporation. This kind of remedy is granted only in extremely rare circumstances. This is the story of one of those cases.

In MTCC 747 v. Korolekh, a condo corporation sought a court order directing an owner to sell and vacate her unit or, in the alternative, to change her behaviour, so as to comply with to section 117 of the Condominium Act. That section provides:

“No person shall permit a condition to exist or carry on an activity in a unit or in the common elements if the condition or the activity is likely to damage the property or cause injury to an individual.”

Continue Reading Court boots out unit owner for “extreme behaviour”

As the deterioration of society supposedly continues and with municipal election season rapidly approaching (with its related canvassing), the temptation to physically remove unwanted visitors at your condo building is probably reaching its peak.

While condominiums are increasingly viewed as a secure sanctuary from the outside world, protected by heavy doors, security and staff, a recent decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice sends a warning about manhandling unwelcome guests.

At issue in the case of Jia v. TSCC 1479 is an ugly assault and battery perpetrated by a condominium superintendent against a visitor.  The case offers a number of important lessons for condo boards and managers.

Some of the highlights of the judge’s decision-making process and her findings are set out below. The paragraph numbers are as they appear in the court’s written decision. At the end, we offer some suggestions to help keep your condo out of danger.

Continue Reading Condo liable when superintendent assaults visitor

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As we approach our 2nd anniversary of blogging the latest condo news, insight and legal analysis, we’d like to thank all of you for following our blog and for submitting your comments and feedback.   We love to hear from you about what topics you want to read about, how we can make our content more useful to you, and to get your two cents about condo law.  As long as you folks in condo land keep reading, we’ll keep writing!

Here’s to the next two years.

Chris Jaglowitz, editor-in-chief

One overlooked but painful way in which the HST adversely affects condominium corporations is the fact that the maximum fee to issue a status certificate is fixed by law at $100 taxes included.

This fixed fee is set out in section 18(2) of O. Reg. 48/01 under the Condominium Act, 1998 which provides as follows:

The fee that a corporation may charge for providing a status certificate, including all material that is required to be included in it, shall not exceed $100, inclusive of all applicable taxes.

So how does this shake down in terms of dollars and cents?

A status certificate issued on June 30, 2010 that was subject to 5% GST would net the condo corporation $95.24.

That same certificate issued on or after July 1, 2010 that is now subject to 13% HST would net the condo corporation about $88.50, a difference of $6.74 from before July 1.

There’s no question that the cost of preparing a status certificate has not become less expensive, so it’s equally clear that condo corporations are obliged to suck up the difference. This can be painful for larger corporations that issue many dozen status certificates each year.

This regulation has not been amended to account for the introduction of the HST and its operation is unfair. A change is required immediately unless the Ministry of Finance wants to create another cockameme rebate program, this time to provide every condominium corporation in Ontario with a small rebate to make up a small fraction of the actual loss incurred on each and every status certificate issued.

My suggestion: In section 18(2) of O.Reg. 48/01 (above), replace the word "inclusive" with "exclusive." The change could be made in as little as 30 days if people in power put their minds to it. Seeing as how this amendment would actually increase tax revenue, it’s astonishing why this has not already been done.

That aside, we’re almost two months into life after HST. How’s it working out for your condo corporation so far?

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