The safest protection against an unwanted ghost remains an old-fashioned one: ask before buying — and get the answer in writing, Bob Aaron writes. The scariest thing in a haunted house may be the agreement of purchase and sale. On Halloween, ghosts are supposed to...
Condo owners who rely on e-bikes may be surprised to learn that a condominium corporation can ban the devices not only in hallways, elevators and garages, but even inside privately owned units. That is the result of a September decision of the Condominium Authority...
A five-dollar plumbing component can fail in seconds. The resulting bill may be five figures — or more. A broken toilet flapper, a clogged bowl and a defective shut-off valve turned into a very expensive lesson for two Mississauga condominium owners. A 2024 decision...
Although this was a British Columbia decision and does not bind Ontario courts, the warning for Toronto homeowners is clear. A British Columbia homeowner has learned the hard way that lopping off a neighbour’s trees without permission can be a costly mistake. Jacalyn...
When a neighbour dispute begins over inches, writes Bob Aaron, the lesson for homeowners is simple: get a survey, read it carefully and try hard not to turn those inches into miles. A few inches of concrete can go a very long way. In Waterloo, they went all the way to...
Condo buildings are seen in downtown Toronto in this file photo. Condominium boards should review their insurance coverage annually with a broker who understands condominium risks, Bob Aaron writes. A Toronto condominium corporation’s experience with fraudulent...
Can a condominium corporation legally regulate who sleeps in an owner’s privately owned home — and how often? Imagine owning a condo and being told that your child or parent may sleep on your sofa or in the empty second bedroom Friday night, but not Saturday, and not...
The Ontario Court of Appeal has upheld a ruling in favour of Pierre Roy against what one judge described as a developer’s “quintessential gag suit aimed at curtailing public expression.” Most Canadians assume we have the right to speak out when a controversial...
Fraudsters don’t want to own your property, writes Bob Aaron. What they want is to access your equity, convert it into cash and then vanish. A mortgage is not an obstacle to the fraud. It is the fraud. One of the most persistent myths in Ontario real estate is that...
After the Wolastoqey case, writes Bob Aaron, private owners get to keep their land in New Brunswick, and presumably in British Columbia (such as this golf course in Richmond) and the rest of Canada. One of the most closely watched Indigenous land claims in Canada took...
When the law says a buyer must receive the Condominium Buyers’ Guide before becoming bound, courts will enforce that requirement strictly. A Hamilton condominium developer has learned an expensive lesson about the importance of strictly complying with Ontario’s...
Crafting a will that could result in disputes among executors is an invitation to expensive litigation. A bitter family dispute over a mother’s ashes has resulted in an unusual court decision and an important lesson for every family about the risks of leaving unclear...
What happens when the law declares you dead — and then, years later, changes its mind? It sounds like the plot of a mystery novel, but for one Quebec family it became a very real legal nightmare, raising unsettling questions about life, death and the limits of legal...
Even if it is arranged long after the initial purchase, it’s important for all property owners to have title insurance, Bob Aaron writes. An appeal decision of Ontario’s Divisional Court has put an end to a bitter family dispute in which a woman stole the title to her...
New home buyers have just won the HST-rebate lottery. Here’s all you need to know. It must be like winning the lottery. Any first-time buyer who bought or buys a new home or condo as a principal residence after March 20, 2025 — last year — can look forward to...
Refinancing a home may feel routine, writes Bob Aaron, but it is not trivial. The efficiency of online ‘closing centres’ comes at a cost to the consumer: less scrutiny, less explanation, and less accountability. Bob Aaron is a Toronto real estate lawyer and a...
Condo owners, writes Bob Aaron, do not have the freedoms they would enjoy in freehold homes, and must adhere to bylaws. Just ask the couple who wound up in court over a dishwasher and a doorbell. This is a true story about a $10,000 doorbell. It took place in a...
An Ontario judge has handed down a record high damages award in a case involving a breach of a single-family residential real estate purchase. In a decision released in December 2025, Justice Paul Sweeny awarded the seller a staggering $2,385,000 representing his...
The court’s decision, writes Bob Aaron, should reassure consumers — and remind wayward builders — that strict compliance with Ontario’s mandatory Tarion Addendum is not optional. In a decision that will reverberate across Ontario’s home-building industry, an Ontario...
Two years after a couple agrees to buy condo, the builder added a floor, writes Bob Aaron. Despite a judge ruling it a ‘material change’ to the contract, the Ontario Condominium Act was of no help. Imagine buying a pre-construction penthouse only to find out that the...