Real Estate Litigation Articles

Township of Lake of Bays implemented a requirement for property owners to enter into an expensive road licence agreement. Is this right? Bob Aaron thinks not. Access to Lake of Bays may cost cottagers more if the Township has its way. But Bob Aaron thinks you should...

“Unacceptable misbehaviour” of occupant due to “serious long-standing substance abuse illness,” in judge’s words, led condo corporation to try to evict man. Condo trouble: community living can present challenges which seldom arise in the context of single-family...

Once you add windows and a door to such a structure, it can no longer be used to ship goods, so it should not be tied to that purpose, Bob Aaron argues. Are shipping containers a solution to Canada’s housing crisis? Should local bylaws prohibit their use in...

Precedents show that courts can rule differently on matters involving video cameras and residences. Is it a violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms for the police to point a video camera at your home without a search warrant? Should the police be...

Body generally exercises its powers to alleviate or eliminate adverse effects of cannabis smoke in Ontario’s condo community. Since the legalization of cannabis, many owners and tenants living in Ontario condominiums have had the enjoyment of their units adversely...

Court rarely hears cases about real estate. Prior owners of property enlarged yard by fencing in a huge piece of public parkland which they didn’t own. The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to hear an appeal of a case involving a claim for adverse possession, also...

Buyer beware! Purchase agreements almost always use what I call weasel terminology to avoid calling a unit illegal. It never fails to amaze me how some agreements of purchase and sale continue to use creative language to describe illegal basement apartments. Over the...

Ignore the promoters of cheap “legal will kits,” and their fill-in-the-blanks forms! You need a lawyer, or you will end up in court, advises Bob Aaron. When the time comes to make a last will to dispose of real estate, bank accounts, investments and other assets, it’s...

Is ‘time of the essence,’ legally speaking, in a residential real estate transaction? Past precedents suggest it is and that deadlines must be adhered to. Virtually every real estate purchase agreement contains a clause which says that time is of the essence of the...

Court case should dissuade developers from cancelling condo sales deals so they can resell the units at higher prices when the price for condos rises. A British Columbia court decision last month should be a deterrent to condominium developers who might terminate...