My real estate lawyer didn’t witness my e-signature. Should I be concerned?

by admin | Jan 12, 2026 | 2026 Toronto Star Property Law Columns, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

It’s a deep and growing problem: lawyers signing off on affidavits or real estate documents without verifying who is actually behind the screen, Bob Aaron writes. Dreamstime In the post-COVID age of digital signatures and electronic meetings, the click of a mouse has...

A silent killer in your home. How to test if your Toronto house is one of the 19% with high levels of this odourless gas

by admin | Nov 17, 2025 | 2025 Toronto Star Property Law Columns, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

While virtually every residential resale agreement contains a warranty that the property does not contain any known urea formaldehyde foam insulation, I have almost never seen a contract which refers to radon, an odourless, colourless, tasteless — and deadly — gas...

B.C. court decision opens floodgates for future Aboriginal land title claims

by admin | Nov 3, 2025 | 2025 Toronto Star Property Law Columns, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

The August ruling in the British Columbia case of Cowichan Tribes v. Canada marks a sea change in real property law and Indigenous rights law in Canada. In a 288,000-word decision, Justice Barbara Young ruled that the Cowichan Tribes hold Aboriginal title to as many...

Why a judge ruled these home buyers were justified in walking away from an accepted offer

by admin | Oct 20, 2025 | 2025 Toronto Star Property Law Columns, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

A case decided in the Superior Court of Justice last year contains an important lesson to buyers and sellers: if one party to a contract changes its terms during the negotiations, even slightly, it’s not the same offer anymore. Until both parties sign the exact same...

‘Squatters’ win fight against Toronto, with a Supreme Court ruling that changes everything

by admin | Oct 6, 2025 | 2025 Toronto Star Property Law Columns, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

The finale to a case which has gone through three levels of courts has wide implications for every law across the country. The Supreme Court of Canada last month ruled that judges do not have the power to create a new law just because they think it would be a good...

The house he agreed to buy burned down before closing. Here’s why the court sided with the seller when things got ugly

by admin | Sep 22, 2025 | 2025 Toronto Star Property Law Columns, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

What happens if the home you agreed to buy goes up in flames before closing? That was the question before the Ontario Superior Court earlier this year. Here’s what happened: In May last year, Grant McDonald agreed to buy a century home on a two-acre lot in Tillsonburg...