What is a cash-for-keys agreement between a tenant and a landlord? Should they even be allowed?

by admin | Aug 3, 2024 | 2024 Toronto Star Property Law Columns, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

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...

Is that a peeping bureaucrat I see staring into our window? Can we continue living in our storage unit?

by admin | Jul 20, 2024 | Toronto Star Property Law Columns, Uncategorized

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...

What is a ‘road licence agreement’ and do I need to care?

by admin | Jul 6, 2024 | 2024 Toronto Star Property Law Columns, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

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...

Condo troubles: When is an owner so unruly, they just have to leave?

by admin | Jun 22, 2024 | 2024 Toronto Star Property Law Columns, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

“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...

When can a shipping container be said to be a home? Trick question

by admin | Jun 8, 2024 | 2024 Toronto Star Property Law Columns, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

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...

Can the cops point a video camera at your home without a search warrant? Can a condo owner put a video doorbell on the outside of their unit?

by admin | May 25, 2024 | 2024 Toronto Star Property Law Columns, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

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...