Real Estate Litigation Articles

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca Financial obligations, such as a requirement to pay monthly dues for parks, beaches or roadways, are only enforceable against parties to the contract. They don’t usually bind later purchasers. A 2016 decision of the Ontario Divisional Court has...

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca Final cost of taxes and inevitable litigation will be borne by the ultimate buyers of the residential units to be built. When the city of Toronto increased its municipal land transfer tax on March 1, no one could have imagined that the failure...

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca Supreme Court rejects appeal of ruling that developer misled investors with rental-income estimates. But the company is in receivership and the condo/hotel is for sale. The Supreme Court of Canada has written the latest chapter in the ongoing...

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca Judge rules exclusions for ground, surface water did not apply to flood caused by dam breach. Not all insurance policies exclude coverage for floods entering a house from the outside. Last month I wrote about a $2-million claim for catastrophic...

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca Making misrepresentations in listings, sale agreements or SPIS forms is risky, as recent court ruling of fraud shows. Patrick Gladu and wife Danielle Boyer-Gladu purchased a property in Sturgeon Falls, Ont., back in 2009. The house had been...

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca Courts uphold insurance ruling that water seepage through foundation walls is not covered under homeowners’ policy. Imagine turning to your insurance company after catastrophic damages to your house and being told, “You’re not covered.” That’s...

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca How one landlord followed all the rules but went 18 months without being paid rent. Anyone interested in becoming a landlord in Ontario could learn some lessons from a recent court case which demonstrates how an unscrupulous tenant was able to...

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca Real-estate agents are obligated to discover and disclose material facts, which include what pipes and fittings were used when a condominium was built. Should condominium corporations disclose the existence of Kitec plumbing to potential buyers...

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca Ottawa owners breached condo declaration by renting unit out through Airbnb website, reinforcing earlier court case involving Toronto condo. Condo owners who rented their suite for short-term stays violated the building’s rules, an Ontario court...

Bob Aaron bob@aaron.ca When a home inspection is waived prior to purchasing a house, it is very difficult to win a lawsuit down the line. What happens if you discover water flowing below the floor in a newly-purchased house and you have to completely gut the basement...