In a decision dated January 27, 2010, the Ontario Energy Board ruled that Toronto Hydro breached the Electricity Act by refusing to connect hydro service to the bulk meters of new condominium projects unless all units in the condominium are individually smart-metered by Toronto Hydro and become a customer of Toronto Hydro.
Continue Reading Toronto Hydro censured for illegal condo hookup practices
People trying to keep tabs on the legislative authority for suite submetering can’t even blink these days without the risk of being left in the dark!
On December 8, 2009, the Ontario Government tabled Bill 235, an Act to enact the Energy Consumer Protection Act, 2009 and to amend other Acts.
If passed, Bill 235 will, among other things, repeal section 53.17 of the Electricity Act, 1998, which is the current authority for condominium boards to install smart meters and download electricity costs to individual unit owners. An entirely new section dealing with submetering and billing in multi-unit residential buildings will be passed, as well as a whole raft of regulations.
As with all recent energy and environmental initiatives, Bill 235 is expected to move forward quickly. Comments were to have been received by February 6, 2010. The public consultation page is here, with links to additional information. The actual wording of the Bill and its legislative status is found here.
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice recently confirmed the simple notion that a condominium lien is not slander of title where the unit owner is in arrears of common expenses at the time the certificate of lien is registered on title.
The following portion of Madam Justice Low’s decision in Jeffers v. YCC 98, 2010 ONSC 474 (CanLII) is instructive:
Continue Reading Condo lien is not slander of title when the owner is in arrears
Bob Gardiner reminds us that the grace period for the ban on hand-held devices while driving is coming to an end.
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Now it is illegal for drivers to talk, text, type, dial or e-mail using Blackberrys, cellphones and similar hand-held devices.
Bill 118, the Countering Distracted Driving and Promoting Green Transportation Act, promoted by the Ministry of Transportation, took effect on October 26, 2009. A three-month probationary educational period will end February 1, 2010, when police will begin issuing tickets to offenders, resulting in fines of up to $500.
Continue Reading Talking back – employers’ vicarious liability
With the twenty-tens now well underway, let’s look back at some of the best of the condo-related blogosphere for the last month of the “aughts.”
New Year Resolutions for Boards – Colorado lawyer Molly Foley-Healy of the HOA Legi-Slate blog suggests three new years’ resolutions that any condo or HOA board should make. It’s not too late!
10 Tough Questions with Herman Turkstra – The Hamiltonian blog picks the brain of local institution, lawyer and former politician Herman Turkstra on Steeltown’s successes, failures and future.
How Much Are My Condo Fees Per Square Foot? – In a recently-launched blog called It’s a Condo Life, Oshawa property manager Tracey McLellan shines some light on how comparing common expenses of different buildings can be confusing.
Here is a sampling of the recent posts on our microblog:
Lincoln Hobbs on this years’ top condo/HOA cases at US College of Community Ass’n Lawyers ‘ annual law conference – http://bit.ly/7gPi6n
RT @canetwork: NY: Condo complex fined $10,000 for barring mezuzah – http://bit.ly/8NhaGi
RT @CondoVultures: Banks seize 30,000 South Florida properties In 2009, according to CondoVultures.com – http://tinyurl.com/yzg4bsg
Audrey Loeb speaks to Law Times about recent ONCA decision in “hot tub case” known as WCC 198 v McMahon – http://bit.ly/6qrZAK
The following guest post is by Athena Mailloux, a fraud examiner at ZAP Consulting Limited. Athena shares some practical solutions to help condo directors keep their new years’ resolution to be vigilant against fraud.
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Whether you are a large business corporation or a sole proprietorship you can never be too cautious when it comes to protecting against fraud. Condominium corporations have no less of a responsibility in protecting against fraud than a publicly traded company. In fact, condo corporations are often relatively small, close-knit communities that may lack stringent internal controls and thus be more susceptible to fraud.
Continue Reading Protect your condominium community against fraud
A February 2009 decision of the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench should be added to the list of notable condo cases for 2009. Check out Dykun v. Cravenbrook Condominium Corporation No. 032 1893.
After changing managers on December 1, 2007, the condominium’s board discovered that the previous manager had improperly withdrawn money from the reserve fund to pay operating expenses, leaving the corporation on the brink of insolvency.
Two months later, the board announced that it was levying a special assessment to raise the money necessary for the corporation to continue operating and to replenish the reserve fund.
As 2009 drifts into the history books, we look back at some of the notable condo law decisions made by Ontario courts and tribunals in the year gone by.
Here are ten of them, in no particular order. Click the bolded case names to view full text decisions at Canadian Legal Information Institute ("CanLII").
#1 – Nipissing Condominium Corporation No. 4 v. Kilfoyl, 2009 CanLII 46654 (ON S.C.)
Corporation obtains a compliance order against owners operating a boarding house in violation of the “single family residence” provision in the declaration. The owners unsuccessfully claim that the case must first be mediated/arbitrated (as per Condo Act s. 134(2)), and that the single family use provision violates the Human Rights Code. The case is now under appeal.
#2 – Metropolitan Toronto Condominium Corporation No. 1250 v. Mastercraft Group Inc, 2009 ONCA 584 (CanLII)
The Court of Appeal makes important rulings on the following interesting issues in this nightmare case over a conversion building:
Application for leave to appeal this case has been made to the Supreme Court of Canada [and dismissed].
Here are some of the postings from our microblog over the past month.
RT @Assocpropmgt: Ancient Homeowner Association Rules from Smithsonian Magazine – http://bit.ly/4LGNGE
Innisfil (Ont) Journal: Big Bay Point Resort seeks conversion to special act corp; more “flexible” than condo corp – http://bit.ly/8S33sA
RT @habitatmag: Co-op / Condo Boards: An expert reveals: The Top 15 Mistakes New Board Members Make – http://tinyurl.com/yhye4dx
RT @ColoradoHOAGal: RT @tedleew: "Top 7 insane homeowners association rules – THE WEEK" http://j.mp/4wLhnD