New rules on terminating a strata in force

New rules on terminating a strata came into force on 28 July 2016. At that time, order in council 592/2016 was adopted. The order in council brought into force the termination provisions of Bill 40, Natural Gas Development Statutes Amendment Act, 2015. These provisions amended part 16 of the Strata Property Act, which deals with cancelling a strata plan and winding up a strata corporation. OIC 592/2016 also contained changes to the Strata Property Regulation and the Read more…

Manitoba strata corporation’s window-replacement project found not to have discriminated against owners on the basis of disability

In four complaints against the same condominium corporation, the Manitoba Board of Human Rights has ruled that replacing clear windows with tinted windows did not amount to discrimination under The Human Rights Code. Three of the complaints—Renard v Winnipeg Condominium Corporation No 30, 2016 MBHR 3, Gordon v Winnipeg Condominium Corporation No 30, 2016 MBHR 4, and Kinvig v Winnipeg Condominium Corporation No 30, 2016 MBHRC 5—involved complainants who had extremely limited vision, to the Read more…

Alberta court holds that creditors with registered builders liens and caveats have priority over strata-lot purchasers’ unregistered trust interests

In 1864684 Alberta Ltd v 1693737 Alberta Inc, 2016 ABQB 371, the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench made a “determination of creditors’ entitlement to net sale proceeds” of a commercial-condominium development located in Airdrie, Alberta. The condominium’s developer was in receivership and the land “was sold in a court-supervised receivership,” with the proceeds being paid into court. The court was asked to determine the claims of “four classes of creditors that could claim entitlement to the Proceeds”: Strata-lot Read more…

Update on Western Australia strata-property reform: New legislation “unlikely” in 2016

As part of its Strata Property Law Project—Phase Two, BCLI is following reform efforts unfolding in other jurisdictions, such as Ontario, New South Wales, and Western Australia. Earlier this month, Landgate—a major contributor to Western Australia’s project—published an update on progress in that state. The update quoted Western Australia’s minister for lands: Recently the Minister for Lands said that he had “hoped strata title reform would be introduced into Parliament by the end of the year Read more…

Ontario court sides with strata corporation in parking-lot dispute

Cheung v York Region Condominium Corporation No. 759, 2016 ONSC 4236, involved a claim that an Ontario condominium corporation’s bylaw governing allocation of parking stalls amounted to oppression of a condominium unit owner. The case reviews the general principles of the Condominium Act, 1998’s oppression remedy and applies them to the often-fraught issue of managing parking. The condominium at issue contained 33 units. Its “declaration was registered on October 19, 1990.” It “is part of the York Corporate Read more…