Will discipline hearing end risky SPIS form?

by admin | Sep 20, 2014 | 2014 Toronto Star Columns, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca Seller’s form has prompted 200 Canadian court cases A recent decision of a discipline panel of the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) could spell the end of the Seller Property Information Statement in Ontario. The SPIS is a disclosure form...

Condo board fined for defying unit owners and court ruling

by admin | Sep 6, 2014 | 2014 Toronto Star Columns, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca Directors must pay for flouting Condominium Act What happens if condominium board members fail to comply with the Condominium Act? That question was the focus of a case which ultimately wound up in Ontario’s Court of Appeal. In 2011, following...

‘Use it or lose it’ under the Land Titles system

by admin | Aug 9, 2014 | 2014 Toronto Star Columns, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca 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 Is it possible to claim possessory title to a parcel of someone else’s land if the...

Sellers’ form still troubling the real estate industry

by admin | Jul 26, 2014 | 2014 Toronto Star Columns, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca Buyers and sellers alike suffer the consequences The Seller Property Information Statement, a disclosure form created by the real estate industry, continues to cause grief for sellers, buyers — and real estate agents. Back in August, 2008,...

More to a tree trunk than meets the eye

by admin | Jul 12, 2014 | 2014 Toronto Star Columns, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca 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 Who owns a tree which straddles the property line between my house and my neighbours? Can I...

Know your cottage’s shore road allowance

by admin | Jun 28, 2014 | 2014 Toronto Star Columns, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca Strip of land along river, lake banks may be public Sixty-six-foot strips of land were laid out for road allowances along rivers and lakes by Crown land surveyors in the late 19th century I just found out that the boathouse and dock in front of...