Lots of stuff from our microblog over the past month.  Here are some of the juiciest entries to enjoy over the long May weekend:

ONSC: Occupant ordered to remove pets from condo unit and pay $19K in costs. Ouch! http://bit.ly/9VALIa

Stupidity by condo board. RT @canetwork: FL: Insurance Canceled (to save money) at Condos Destroyed by Fire – http://bit.ly/9BfQfW

RT @calinambrus: Condo board lords. Each condo has one, and you know what they say: If you can’t beat them, join them: http://ow.ly/1Hzjk

RT @NewlovelyPets: Baltimore condo board considers dog DNA testing to catch culprits neglecting to scoop dog poop:http://bit.ly/bVAIoD

Rebuild/repair planned for burned-out condo – $28K deductible per unit req’d for entire rebuild: http://bit.ly/axTbiB (via @metrocalgary)

RT @MortonsMusings:  Litigation as an elaborate game of chicken: http://bit.ly/cEoanW

With just 2 months until #HST Day, he tells the truth – HST will hit family budget, McGuinty admits:  http://bit.ly/atB8oH (@TorontoStar)

RT @condobusiness: @deanmccabe, reg’l manager for Brookfield Residential talks about the impact of HST for condos: http://bit.ly/bexKnx

From HST Blog: Landlords Not Happy about HST and are Asking Tenants to Leave: http://bit.ly/ajVQoG

Continue Reading Microblog posts to 5/20/2010

The G20 Summit will take place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in downtown Toronto on Saturday, June 26 and Sunday, June 27.

Word on the street is that demonstrations and disruptions related to the event will take place from June 21 to 28 in various parts of the city. These activities are expected to cause pedestrian and vehicle traffic delays, interruptions to public transit and GO Train service, road closures and possible PATH closures. In addition, access within the security zones will be severely restricted.

Today’s Toronto Star reports about the uncertainty faced by the one and only residential condo that will be within the actual security cordon and the likely restrictions those residents will have to face in order to get home after work. 

My firm’s home base is in a highrise office tower on Bay Street around Queen, which is at the north end of the financial district and just a couple blocks north of the likely extent of the security cordon. In anticipation of the excitement later next month, our landlord recently circulated a memo with the following advice to tenants:

Continue Reading Is your condo ready for the G20 summit?

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.   

Continue Reading Best of the blogosphere for April 2010

Like most people attending PM Expo Springfest at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on April 28, I was a little surprised by the strong police presence both outside and inside the facility. It turns out that the extra security was for the Barrick Gold shareholders’ meeting taking place that morning in the conference hall next to ours.

Anyhow, there was an excellent turnout of over 1,500 property managers and condo directors, all of whom probably felt much safer knowing that this huge police detachment could probably protect us from any unhappy condo unit owners ready to riot over the carpet pattern chosen for the corridor refurbishment project in their buildings.

I was lucky to sit on an all-star panel sponsored by CCI-Toronto to talk about “What’s Right and What Needs Improvement in the World of Condos” from the perspectives of four different segments of the condo industry. Here’s a recap of some key takeaway points from the speakers:

Continue Reading Recap of 2010 PM Expo Springfest presentation

Debtors and troublemakers are no longer immune from receiving legal process on the Lord’s Day.

Ontario’s long-standing prohibition against serving legal documents and enforcing court orders on Sundays was abolished amidst little fanfare as of December 15, 2009, when section 124 of the Courts of Justice Act was repealed by the Good Government Act, 2009.  This omnibus bill amended hundreds of Ontario statutes, including the Condo Act.

Before its repeal, section 124 read as follows:

No document shall be served and no order shall be executed on Sunday, except with leave of the court.

This development is of special interest to process servers, bailiffs and lawyers who go to sleep on Friday night thinking there are only two more working days until Monday.

Those who spend Sundays on more spiritual pursuits will recall that:

And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.

                                                                                                         – Matthew 5:40

 

Here are some of the more newsy condo-related items tweeted on our microblog since mid-March.

Human rights litigation emerging as cost concern for small/medium businesses: http://bit.ly/cTNJJ6 (via @globeandmail) – Same for condos!

Renters to be shielded from impact of HST on utilities (via @torontostar): http://bit.ly/cetwHy – But condo unit owners have to suck it up! 

RT @RmarcheseMPP: Does your Trinity Spadina condo have an AGM coming up? Let me know–I’d love to come and chat with you and the other residents. 

We hope his Toronto project fares better – Trump condo-hotel in Ft Lauderdale faces foreclosure (via SunSentinel) – http://bit.ly/drcn1L 

Workplace Violence and Harassment update – RT @lisastam: New fact sheet from Ontario Ministry of Labour on Bill 168 – http://bit.ly/c73NM2 

RT @OntMinLabour: Workplace violence compliance guideline now available from MOL – http://tinyurl.com/ycpawnx

Continue Reading Microblog posts to 4/19/2010

The Ontario Superior Court recently restrained a meeting called by unit owners after the condo failed to respond to a duly-filed requisition for calling a meeting to remove directors.

Finding itself in the midst of serious financial trouble and facing stiff resistance by owners after making several tough choices, the board decided in December to apply to the court for the appointment of an administrator. The application was not commenced until three months later, in late March, a few weeks after receiving a requisition by owners to hold a meeting to remove the board.

Continue Reading Court restrains requisition meeting, orders cooling-off period

Does your condo have what it takes to be Condo of the Year?

If so, Canadian Condominium Institute – Toronto and Area Chapter wants to hear from you. They’re accepting applications until May 1, 2010 for the last quarter finalists.

$5,000 is up for grabs, together with a customized street sign.  What’s more, however, is the prestige of being known as one of the best-run condos in town.

Criteria for this award include:

  • Effective Use of Committees
  • Communications
  • Forward ‘Thinkingness’
  • Good Governance
  • Social Fabric of the Community
  • Energy Initiatives
  • Consistency
  • Environmental Concerns
  • Any other unique approach or program

Visit CCI-T’s website here for more details.  Good luck to all entrants!

Any Canadian condo corporation whose board and owners want to be heard by government, have easy access to leading experts and top notch condo education should consider joining their local chapter of CCI. With 15 chapters across Canada, there’s one near you.

Another interesting lesson emerges from Jeffers v. YCC 98, the slander of title case we reported about earlier this year.

After dismissing the plaintiffs’ lawsuit at trial, the court ordered the plaintiffs (the unit owners) to pay about 50% of the legal costs incurred by the defendant condo corporation and the co-defendant bank.

Unsatisfied with that costs award, the condo made further submissions about why it should recover 100% of its legal costs from the unsuccessful unit owners. In support of that request, the condo relied on an offer to settle it had made during the litigation and also section 134(5) of the Condo Act, which provides as follows:

Continue Reading Condo wins slander of title case but loses bid for complete costs recovery

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. 

Continue Reading Best of the blogosphere for March 2010