A decade of not setting foot on property ends ownership – A patch of fenced-off land was the subject of a recent Ontario court ruling on squatter’s rights

Buyers and sellers alike suffer the consequences

Court judges a boundary tree by entire trunk, from roots to foliage. A little Norway maple can grow into a big legal problem for neighbours who share it

Strip of land along river, lake banks may be public

An acceptable status certificate is as important to the
buyers as the purchase agreement itself. Make sure your lawyer reviews the
certificate closely.

Couple out of home for a year in case of smoke
migration

Ask for plans and measurements to be included in your purchase offer

Ensure the scope, cost and responsibilities are covered

New home purchase agreements have loopholes

Some title insurance may not cover previous, shoddy repairs

How a long cruel winter is driving some people into a snow rage…

It’s time to end the obstacle to buying a home in Canada’s largest city

Hawkins Gignac Act a big step toward greater safety at home

TORONTO POLICE SERVICE 2007-2014 GROW-OP LIST

Consider the gift of a will and estate plan for Valentine’s Day

Court of Appeal Judge Sydney Robins wrote landmark fax decision

Real estate commission due when seller is made a full listing price offer

Title insurance will help cover costs if alterations needed

Third parties named on title could disqualify your tax break

Buyers should check their purchase agreements to see whether the liability limitation clause is included

Establishing a quasi-judicial Condo Office should be done with care

Get the details of property you’re buying in all-important survey

When a judge ordered Kenneth Sorensen to move his in-ground swimming pool, I can only imagine it spoiled his whole day.

Title insurance and funds holdback to sign off on permit will allow deal to close

Too many legal sinkholes in real estate proposal

Seller Property Information Statement has prompted over 200 court cases since 1997

One of the most common complaints from condominium residents is noise coming from neighbouring units. In the last 40 years, more than 100 condominium noise cases have gone to trial in Ontario courts.

Legal services coverage provides protection from mistakes outside policy limits

Be reasonable, get solid legal advice to help minimize damages and avoid an ugly court case

A decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal in February may have settled the thorny question of whether or not courts have the authority to correct erroneous descriptions of properties in the land registration system.

Shortly after Sidney and his wife bought their Toronto home last fall, a number of their new neighbours told them that there had been a suicide there just prior to their purchase.

In the wake of a flood of court cases involving the Seller Property Information Statement (SPIS) and its counterparts across Canada, the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) has introduced a strange new form designed to warn sellers about signing the SPIS.

Five former board members of a London, Ont., condominium corporation have been personally ordered to pay costs totalling $36,300 as a result of two related lawsuits, after the old board ignored the wishes of a majority of unit owners. The old board had refused to recognize the results of a members’ meeting in which a new board was elected.

The way I see it, legal fees are the best consumer bargain in the entire real estate transaction

Seller-Property-Information-Statement-Update-2011-2013

CBC MARKETPLACE - YOU'RE NOT COVERED - Tom Harrington (guest appearance: Bob Aaron)

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca Sometimes, even the experts get it wrong, or maybe not entirely right. In her new book, Money Rules, financial guru Gail Vaz Oxlade says that buying a home is not for...

Resale home’s history now available through HomeVerified – Raises privacy concerns

In one of the scariest court decisions of recent years, the Ontario Divisional Court has ruled that innocent landowners can be held responsible to remedy contamination caused to their properties by...

A Saskatoon real estate agent and his brokerage have escaped liability to the purchasers of a home with a wet basement in a misrepresentation lawsuit. Although they recovered their damages from the sellers, the unhappy buyers were ordered to pay the agent’s costs out of their own pocket.

Perhaps the most fundamental principle of property ownership in Ontario is that users of the land registration system can rely on it for an accurate reflection of title. If an error occurs in the registry, the courts, or the Director of Titles should have the authority and even the obligation to correct it.

Despite the fact that residential title insurance has been commonplace in Ontario for the last 15 years, many of my clients still ask me what it covers just as we are about to sign the closing papers for their home purchase.

An Ontario real estate agent has escaped responsibility for
failing to review the results of a professional home inspection with his purchaser client, according to a decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal earlier this year.

A recent decision of the Superior Court of Justice in London, Ont., carries a powerful message about the consequences that can result when a condominium board refuses to comply with the democratic process set out in the
legislation.

Imagine waking up one morning to find out that the house you are living in and have listed for sale belongs to your next-door neighbours, and their house belongs to you.

A decision of the Ontario Divisional Court this summer underscores the importance of having an experienced real estate lawyer review a builder purchase agreement before it is signed.

Ontario property owners may soon be in for a shock when they
receive their new property assessment notice, but it doesn’t necessarily mean their taxes are going up.

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca A decision of the Ontario Court of Justice last week highlights the importance of buying a new home only from a registered builder, and the risks to the buyer if the home is...

A decision of Justice Ted Matlow in the Ontario Superior Court last month contains valuable lessons for residential landlords and tenants, along with a strong message for the Ontario government, the...

As a result of its promotion by the Ontario Real Estate
Association (OREA), the Seller Property Information Statement (SPIS) continues to be a source of never-ending business for litigation lawyers and endless grief for unlucky buyers and sellers who are being swept into the bottomless pit of lawsuits because they used it.

In June, the McGuinty government announced a public consultation process to “modernize” the 1998 Condominium Act to meet the needs of owners, residents and other stakeholders in the rapidly-evolving industry.

Condominium corporations have a duty to accommodate
residents who have sensitivity to second-hand cigarette smoke, according to a recent decision of the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal. Corporations who
fail in their duty may well be subject to penalties.

The Tarion Warranty Corp. has introduced a number of program changes which will benefit consumers by providing better disclosure of extra charges in builder sales agreements.

A recent decision of the British Columbia Court of Appeal serves as a strong reminder that landowners who are involved in property boundary disputes should never take the law into their own hands.

Compulsory licensing for small landlords is
rapidly spreading throughout Ontario, having come into effect most recently in Waterloo on April 1 and North Bay on May 1. Other Ontario cities which have already implemented a licensing regime are Guelph, London, Mississauga and Oshawa.

Court of Appeal has written what may be the final chapter in a case involving a
couple who unknowingly purchased a home requiring extensive repairs to make it comply
with the Ontario Building Code.

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca Toronto real estate law guru Jeffrey Lem has a knack for making court cases both entertaining and educational at the same time. His latest effort, which appeared in the Law...

The beginning of the cottage season is a good opportunity
for a reminder that recreational real estate transactions are unlike any other property dealings.

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca There are many good reasons to support the Toronto Real Estate Board in its battle with the federal Competition Bureau. After all, TREB created the Multiple Listing...

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca My column on basement apartments earlier this month (http://aaron.ca/columns/2012-03-17.htm)  seems to have touched a nerve among homeowners and real estate agents, many...

When real estate agents prepare offers for a house with a
basement apartment, they typically insert a clause stating that “seller does not warrant retrofit status.”

Whenever a new subdivision is built, the subdivider is
required to enter into a development agreement with the municipality. Part of each agreement is a requirement for the developer to implement a city-approved
grading plan. The plan ensures that rainwater and snowmelt flow away from the
homes and into storm sewers.

It is not unusual for lawyers, as we advance through our careers, to assemble a short list of our heroes in the legal field – outstanding individuals who have earned our admiration for their achievements in the law

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca Frank and Dolores Lipischak are next-door neighbours to Diana DeWolf and Joe Russ on Caille Ave. in the town of Lakeshore in Essex County. Their homes front on Lake St. Clair...

Whether or not Mitt Romney
becomes the 45^th president of the United States after the November
election, chances are that he and his siblings will still spend part of their
summers at the family cottage they still own inside
a tiny, gated community called Beach O’ Pines near Grand Bend, Ont.

Peel Condominium Corp. 108 is an attractive townhouse development built in 2002 on Central Park Dr. in Brampton. Back in April 2009, the board of directors became aware that Donna Young, one of the...

Should Ontario consumers always have the benefit of independent legal advice
when they obtain title insurance for their real estate purchases?

When you’re selling a house known as a link-semi, is it wrong to advertise it
as a detached home?

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca In a landmark consumer protection initiative, the Tarion Warranty Corp. has proposed a requirement that builder purchase agreements set out in one place all the...

The seller property disclosure statement remains a hot topic in the real
estate community as Manitoba has now made them compulsory, while Britain has
gone in the other direction to repeal the law requiring them in every
transaction.

Toronto
residents who are proud to live in areas such as Harbourfront, Davisville
Village, Leslieville, Chaplin Estates, Hogg’s Hollow and Corktown are bound to
be disappointed to learn that their neighbourhood names have been wiped off the
map by the City of Toronto and the Toronto Real Estate Board.

A court case that went all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada highlights the importance of homeowners keeping accurate records of their possessions in the event an insurance claim becomes necessary.

As I see it, the real issue in this provincial election should be whether the Ontario government is able and willing to act decisively and promptly to maintain the rule of law and protect the citizens of the province and their homes from lawbreakers.

I received an interesting call earlier this month. A reader lives next to a
construction site and the builder’s crane is continually passing through the air
space above her home. She wanted to know if she was entitled to any
compensation.

A Superior Court decision released last month underscores the importance of reviewing condominium floor plans before completing the purchase of a unit. The trial of the action took 42 court days and...

With thousands of new Toronto condominiums being completed each year,
investor purchasers are putting many of them on the market, anxious to cash in
on their profits. Unfortunately, the paperwork involved in selling them, either
during construction or after completion and registration, is complex and
problematic.

One of the lesser known benefits of title insurance is that the insurer is obligated to provide and pay for the legal costs of defending the insured’s title if a third party sues claiming an...

Last month I received an email from a firm billing itself as a “very
successful real estate investment firm that invests heavily in something
called rent-to-own.”

One of the biggest challenges facing the new home industry today is the
problem of illegal construction and sale of houses. In Ontario, it is illegal
for a homebuilder to enter into an agreement of purchase and sale or a
construction contract with a purchaser if the builder is not registered with the
Tarion Warranty Corp.

The town of Port Hope, featured two weeks ago in a Saturday Star story on the impact of low-level nuclear contamination affecting local homeowners, is not the only Ontario municipality saddled with...

An Ontario court has found a real estate agent partially liable in damages for failing to review a home inspector’s report carefully with his purchaser client. The court found that the agent’s duty...

If there ever was any doubt about the risks to sellers and real estate agents of using the Seller Property Information Statement (SPIS), a decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal earlier this month...

Does a seller have an obligation to disclose to a purchaser with young children the fact that a person convicted of child pornography lives across the street? That was the issue in a court case...

The governing bodies of the notary and legal professions in Quebec have
launched a lawsuit against several title insurance companies over the
preparation and registration of mortgages and discharges of mortgages on real
estate in the province.

In my column on April 2, I wrote about a study by Halifax Home Insurance in
the U.K. which reported that more than 360,000 Britons, or one in 10 people,
moved home because of irritating neighbours.

At any given time, at least some of the courts in Ontario are occupied with
disputes between neighbours. Based on the current law reports that come across
my desk, these disputes usually involve noise, boundary disputes, weeds,
garbage, animals, harassment, smoking, or parking issues.

A Toronto-area builder has filed a notice of appeal after losing two small
claims court cases to new condominium buyers who sued to recover thousands of
dollars in “unreal” closing charges.

Maple Leaf Square is a new condominium development on Bremner Blvd.
built by a subsidiary of Lanterra Developments. The mixed-use project includes 872 residential suites.

“Good fences make good neighbours” is an old English proverb made popular by
Robert Frost in his 1914 poem “Mending Wall.” It was quoted again last year in
an Ontario court case by Justice Wailan Low.

The Park Lake Residences condominium project is located on Lake Shore Blvd.
W. at Ellis Ave., near the foot of Windermere. Built by the Pemberton Group, it
consists of twin glass and concrete towers, one 18 storeys and the other 19,
joined by a four-level podium.

Real estate boards and agents across the country continue to promote the use
of the Seller Property Information Statement (SPIS), despite the fact that the
disclosure form has resulted in an avalanche of litigation resulting from its
widespread use and misuse.

The Supreme Court of Canada has written the final chapter in a case which
raises important issues about the protection of our privacy rights, which are
safeguarded by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

What could be one of the largest real estate frauds in Ontario history is now
playing itself out in a complex court case started by the liquidators of the
Croatian (Toronto) Credit Union Limited.

The Ontario Court of Appeal has reversed a lower court decision that ruled
that all of the unit owners of a new condominium project did not have to
purchase the resident manager’s unit from the developer.

People typically do more research when they buy a colour TV than when they
buy a home.

Over the years, I have repeatedly criticized the Seller Property Information
Statement (SPIS), a form published by the Ontario Real Estate Association.

One of my all-time favourite court cases deals with the Edmonton family who were well into building their dream home when they discovered that they didn t own the lot where their new house was under...