Real Estate Litigation Articles

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

The iPro crisis that has consumed the real estate industry in Ontario recently sets a bad example for future discipline cases against agents who may be charged with misappropriation or misuse of deposit funds. The precedent-setting decision of the Real Estate Council...

A decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice last November sends a strong warning to condominium corporations that it will not tolerate any abuse of power or oppressive conduct over its members. The case involves Leigh and Harvin Gonzales who were looking for a...

The unauthorized use of real estate lockboxes for unsupervised access to listed properties continues to be a matter of concern to the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) and the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB). But the two groups have been slow off the...

While there may be many good reasons for seniors to register a home jointly with their children, writes Bob Aaron, it’s not always foolproof — and can backfire badly. Hardly a week goes by when I am not asked by a client with grown children whether they can save...

Navigating a real estate agent’s creative bag of euphemisms, writes Bob Aaron, is key to cracking the code when searching for a home — like this handyman special with its low maintenance yard! Real estate has always had its own special language — with plenty of...