Condominium Law
Condominium Culture Shock
Condominiums are marketed to the public as a “worry-free lifestyle” – no need to mow the lawn in the summer, no need to shovel snow in the winter, access to amenities, and a property manager to take care of everything...

Do Condos Have a Duty to Accommodate Disabled Residents?
The Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (the “Tribunal”) recently released a decision regarding whether condominium corporations in Ontario have a duty to accommodate the specific requests of disabled residents and, the timeframe within which action must be taken. In Polito...

Filing Returns with the Condominium Authority of Ontario
Condominium corporations in Ontario are required to file specific returns with the Condominium Authority of Ontario (CAO). While this may seem like a simple practice, the consequences of not filing the proper returns on time can impact not only condominium...

Ontario Condominiums 101: Part 2 – Protections for owners of new condominium units
Last week, we took a brief look at condominium corporations, the declarations that they can make and how they are governed in Ontario. Once the turn-over meeting has occurred and the newly elected board of directors is in place, the...

Ontario Condominiums 101: Part 1 – What is a condominium corporation?
According to Statistics Canada, new condo construction has been the dominant form of residential construction in Canada since 2012. While most people think of condominiums as a type of building, they are first and foremost a system of ownership. In...

Ontario Condominium Status Certificates
An Ontario Court of Appeal decision regarding condominium status certificates should be of interest for anyone who is evaluating a status certificate during their purchase or sale of a condominium. In this post, we will take a look at the...

Ontario condominium law: Are all the rules legal?
Condominium living can come with a lot of rules. Ontario residents may wonder whether some of those rules are legal under condominium law. For instance, there are rules that stipulate what paint colours can be used in a unit or...
Shared Common Elements in a Condominium – An explanation of POTL and CECC
Condominium developers may be required by the City to purchase a Parcel of Tied Land ("POTL"), as authorized in the Condominium Act, 1998 (the "Act"), to be tied to their common elements. Conversely, condominium owners currently enjoying an informal arrangement...

Interim Occupancy Fees Related to a New Build Condominium Purchase
When a purchaser buys a newly constructed condominium unit, the builder will often allow them to move in prior to being able to transfer legal title to the property. This occurs in almost all new build condominiums since the legal...

New Build Condo Closing Costs: Tarion And Utilities
For our final post in our series on closing costs for new build condos, we will take a look at more complex costs that are payable upon closing. In previous weeks, we looked at the down payment and legal fees,...