One of the most important real estate cases of the year was released by the Ontario Court of Appeal this month. It upsets the commonly-held interpretation of joint tenancy, a form of property ownership (not tenancy) which provides that on the death of one joint owner,...
A ruling of the Ontario Superior Court in October serves as a warning to those who would commit mortgage fraud that they will be treated harshly by the justice system. Olga Taraschuk owned a house on Florence Avenue in Toronto. She inherited the house from her mother...
Tarion — Ontario’s consumer protection organization for newly built homes — wants to reduce the amount of deposit protection for buyers of pre-construction freehold homes who fail to register their purchase agreements with the program. Deposit protection covers buyers...
When a landlord wants to recover possession of a rental unit without waiting months to get a hearing, such an agreement can be used … or abused. Cash for keys? That’s one way around getting a tenant to vacate. Is it time for the Ontario government to make...
Whether there’s an unauthorized dwelling inside a storage building should not be resolved by peering inside, taking pics, judge finds. Appeal court disagrees. A storage unit would seem an unlikely abode and municipal officials may have questions. Should a municipal...
Township of Lake of Bays implemented a requirement for property owners to enter into an expensive road licence agreement. Is this right? Bob Aaron thinks not. Access to Lake of Bays may cost cottagers more if the Township has its way. But Bob Aaron thinks you should...
“Unacceptable misbehaviour” of occupant due to “serious long-standing substance abuse illness,” in judge’s words, led condo corporation to try to evict man. Condo trouble: community living can present challenges which seldom arise in the context of single-family...
Once you add windows and a door to such a structure, it can no longer be used to ship goods, so it should not be tied to that purpose, Bob Aaron argues. Are shipping containers a solution to Canada’s housing crisis? Should local bylaws prohibit their use in...
Precedents show that courts can rule differently on matters involving video cameras and residences. Is it a violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms for the police to point a video camera at your home without a search warrant? Should the police be...
Body generally exercises its powers to alleviate or eliminate adverse effects of cannabis smoke in Ontario’s condo community. Since the legalization of cannabis, many owners and tenants living in Ontario condominiums have had the enjoyment of their units adversely...
Court rarely hears cases about real estate. Prior owners of property enlarged yard by fencing in a huge piece of public parkland which they didn’t own. The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to hear an appeal of a case involving a claim for adverse possession, also...
Buyer beware! Purchase agreements almost always use what I call weasel terminology to avoid calling a unit illegal. It never fails to amaze me how some agreements of purchase and sale continue to use creative language to describe illegal basement apartments. Over the...
Ignore the promoters of cheap “legal will kits,” and their fill-in-the-blanks forms! You need a lawyer, or you will end up in court, advises Bob Aaron. When the time comes to make a last will to dispose of real estate, bank accounts, investments and other assets, it’s...
Is ‘time of the essence,’ legally speaking, in a residential real estate transaction? Past precedents suggest it is and that deadlines must be adhered to. Virtually every real estate purchase agreement contains a clause which says that time is of the essence of the...
Court case should dissuade developers from cancelling condo sales deals so they can resell the units at higher prices when the price for condos rises. A British Columbia court decision last month should be a deterrent to condominium developers who might terminate...
Huge numbers of Ontario property owners, especially in rural areas, may face issue of Hydro poles on their land ostensibly blocking construction plans. What can a property owner do if his property contains an unauthorized hydro pole which interferes with plans to...
Petrified buyers facing prospect of being unable to raise cash needed to close, while higher interest rates are making occupancy fees sky-rocket. A common problem today for would-be buyers of pre-construction homes or condominiums is when the property values have...
Regulators, government, real estate agents involved, even buyers, themselves, could share responsibility for the whopping losses. When 28 buyers lose a combined $5.4 million in deposits on pre-construction houses, it is tempting to wonder who is at fault. Last month,...
Homeowners don't know notice of security interest is registered on their title. In selling their home, they have to pay it out. A group of Ontario real estate and litigation lawyers has written an open letter to Todd McCarthy, Ontario’s minister of Public and Business...