Condominium Law
OUR CREDENTIALS:
A construction error during the renovations to a underground parking lot left residents of the condo with a hefty bill and without access to their parking spaces for months. SVR’s Condo Team reached a settlement at mediation for $1.2M and recovered additional cost from the building’s insurer.
Scott Venturo Rudakoff LLP provides practical legal advice and exceptional client service for all condominium matters.
Our condominium lawyers can provide advice and recommend action on every legal aspect of condominium living. In particular, we can assist with:
We act on behalf of condominiums in the collection of outstanding fees, Special Assessments, chargebacks, fines, and insurance deductibles including:
Preparation, registration and discontinuance of caveats
Demand Letters
Foreclosure actions in Court of Queen’s Bench
Legal actions to collect fines and chargebacks that cannot be collected by foreclosure
Condominium bylaws are the rules governing obligations of a Condominium Corporation, its Board of Directors, and its owners. We can act on behalf of Boards in situations involving unit owners breaching Bylaws such noise violations, and age restrictions by providing:
An opinion on whether there has been a breach or not
Demand letters to owners requiring they “cease and desist” from breaching Bylaws
Court applications compelling owners to abide by the Bylaws and charging any costs for remediation back to the owner.
We represent Condominium Corporations and their Board of Directors in claims dealing with all types of construction and warranty losses through various negotiation and litigation techniques. Our approach has resulted in a 100% success rate at reaching a settlement outside of Court.
We can assist you by chairing Annual General Meetings and/or Extraordinary General Meetings where legal issues are on the agenda or if the Board is not comfortable managing the meetings.
Every year, we assist dozens of Condominium Corporations and their Board of Directors in interpreting, drafting, and amending bylaws. Updating bylaws to reflect the new provincial Condominium Property Act, policies on short-term rentals, the use of cannabis in the building and addressing insurance implications of betterment & improvements are among the issues that we frequently assist with. We also prepare special resolutions necessary for approving new bylaws, and their registration at the Land Titles Office.
We can assist Condominium Corporations and their Board of Directors in evaluating tenants’ and owners’ actions, leading ultimately to court applications for the eviction of pets, tenants, and even owners who are breaching Bylaws.
Condominium boards are frequently asked by unit owners for approval to modify common area of the building. These changes can include items such new skylights, decks, privacy shades, BBQs and solar tubes. While boards are often happy to support these changes which add to the owners enjoyment of their home, they need to be careful that these agreements are drafted in a way that establishes who will be responsible for these new elements of the common area. Steps to take include registering an easement on the title of the unit owners’ property so that any future owner of the unit knows from the outset what they are responsible for.
