Real Estate Litigation Articles

Jeffrey Lem, 61, director of titles, responsible for administering registration of province’s 7.5 million parcels of land, dead at 61. Jeffrey Lem: His job involved making the land registry system work fairly, seamlessly and efficiently. Ontario’s real estate...

Builder tacked on $30,533 in cost increases. Case shows importance of reviewing clauses in proposed purchase agreements, writes Bob Aaron. An itemized list provided to the buyers detailed higher charges for subfloors, masonry, rooftop deck, parapet and lumber. Sayers...

What happens when homes get built in the wrong place? Two cases show the perils of not doing your homework, writes Bob Aaron. I’ve always found it fascinating to see what happens when a builder builds a house on land it doesn’t own. The latest example of this dilemma...

Case suggests certain items of city infrastructure, such as backyard catch basins, can be the property of the homeowner to do with as they please. A decision of the Ontario Superior Court last month has allowed 4,000 Vaughan homeowners to disconnect their homes from...

Anyone these days can generate an emoji, but without ample evidence to confirm the source, its use is neither efficient, nor reliable, says Bob Aaron. Is it possible to buy or sell real estate by attaching an electronic emoji to an agreement? The question arises in...

Agreement at centre of case required buyers pay for extra increases in construction costs as sworn to on behalf of builder. The judge wasn’t having it. It has become an unpleasant fact of life in new home construction that some builders have implemented creative...

Cover for water damage deemed not in place despite daily visits to vacant property. Talk to your broker about any change in risks, says Bob Aaron. A homeowner in Hamilton learned the hard way that there are huge differences between insurance policies, and that the...

Oops! Dream home was built, in part, on land owned by neighbours Case illustrates the vital importance of getting a building location survey, as house is built, in part, on neighbours’ land. What happens if you build part of your dream home on land owned by your...

Noise about pickleball rises in communities across the country By Bob Aaron Toronto Star contributing columnist. Bob Aaron says justice of the peace found noise caused by pickleball was unreasonable and disturbed inhabitants, and this breached town bylaws. With the...

How can you avoid having your home listed on the MLS database? By Bob Aaron Toronto Star contributing columnist. Despite the new rule, there are ways for home-sellers to avoid being forced to list their property on Multiple Listing Service (MLS), says Bob Aaron. At...