Basement apartments must comply with code

by admin | Mar 17, 2012 | 2012 Toronto Star Columns, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca 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.” This results in the purchaser taking the risk of getting caught by city...

Fight over grading issues ends in court

by admin | Mar 3, 2012 | 2012 Toronto Star Columns, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca 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...

Rabbi W. Gunther Plaut was a human rights advocate

by admin | Feb 18, 2012 | 2012 Toronto Star Columns, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca 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 They may be judges, authors,...

Badly placed fences make angry neighbours

by admin | Feb 4, 2012 | 2012 Toronto Star Columns, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

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 and their deep lots back onto the municipal street. When the...

Interesting history of Romney cottage compound

by admin | Jan 21, 2012 | 2012 Toronto Star Columns, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca Whether or not Mitt Romney becomes the 45th 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...

Enforcement of condo declaration is a board’s duty

by admin | Jan 7, 2012 | 2012 Toronto Star Columns, Toronto Star Property Law Columns

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 owners, had installed in her unit a tankless water heater that vents...