Personal touches can be ordered removed from condo properties’ common elements

by admin | Mar 20, 2021 | 2021 Toronto Star Property Law Columns, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

Disputes over the unauthorized use of condominium common elements continue to appear in Ontario courtrooms. One recent case involved Irving and Nancy Kumer, who owned a luxury condominium townhouse on Lower Village Gate, near Spadina Rd. and St. Clair Ave. W., in...

Check into work orders and permits before you buy

by admin | Mar 3, 2021 | 2021 Toronto Star Property Law Columns, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

Who is responsible when a home is so defective that it is deemed unsafe to occupy? That was the issue facing John Breen after he purchased a luxury cottage for $710,000 in 1999. The winterized cottage was 5,000 square feet on 15 acres with six bedrooms, 4-1/2...

Kids, including adopted adult children, can inherit Toronto Islands’ exclusive and restricted homes

by admin | Feb 20, 2021 | 2021 Toronto Star Property Law Columns, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

Can a 90-year-old man adopt a 58-year-old adult as his son in order to allow the younger one to acquire ownership of his Toronto Island home? That was the question facing Justice Markus Koehnen in an application brought by the Toronto Islands Community Trust Corp....

Who is liable if defects are found after a home inspection?

by admin | Feb 6, 2021 | 2021 Toronto Star Property Law Columns, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

Can a home inspector avoid legal responsibility if is an exclusion of liability clause in the inspection contract? In February, 2009, Michael Smith retained Terry Gordon, a registered home inspector, to inspect a house for sale in Dartmouth, N.S. Gordon presented...

It can be expensive to ignore the strict rules of a property easement

by admin | Jan 23, 2021 | 2021 Toronto Star Property Law Columns, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca The Ontario Court of Appeal has ordered two Oakville, Ont. homeowners to pay $40,000 in court costs and to remove a swimming pool they had built on top of a utility easement. The easement, in favour of the town of Oakville and Oakville Hydro,...

New homeowners who discovered hidden troves of cash — and how Canada’s courts decided who got it

by admin | Jan 9, 2021 | 2021 Toronto Star Property Law Columns, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca A discovery of $500,000 in cash and gold by Alberta homebuyers as they renovated their house in 2017 was the subject of my column in November https://www.aaron.ca/do-home-buyers-keep-the-500k-they-discover-in-their-house-during-renovations/. A...