Posted on: Friday, October 26th, 2012
On March 16, 2012, the Ontario Court of Appeal released an important decision pertaining to the definition of an “adverse effect” under the EPA. The case, Ontario (Environment) v. Castonguay Blasting LTD, involved a situation in which the defendant (Castonguay) was charged with a violation under the EPA because of [...]
Posted on: Wednesday, September 12th, 2012
Imagine having your property contaminated by your neighbour THEN being ordered by the Ministry to clean it up! Can it happen? Absolutely. In the May 28, 2012 decision of The Corporation of the City of Kawartha Lakes v. Director, Ministry of the Environment, the Divisional Court affirmed the Environmental Review [...]
Posted on: Wednesday, April 25th, 2012
What are Your Disclosure Obligations? The disclosure obligations of Real Estate Agents in Ontario are unclear for what are commonly referred to as stigmatized properties. But disclosure is clearly required for one category of stigmatized properties, that being homes that were used in a grow operation. The RECO website has [...]
Posted on: Thursday, April 19th, 2012
I am often asked by real estate agents what do I have an obligation to disclose… murder, suicide, death…? If the property has been the location of a murder, suicide, sexual assault or death these events are considered stigmas. Depending on the facts of each case and your individual purchaser [...]
Posted on: Tuesday, April 10th, 2012
It is no surprise that Nortel is insolvent and seeking to restructure under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (“CCAA”). What is a surprise is the ruling this month of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice that the Ministry of Environment (“MOE”) Orders which require Nortel to perform environmental clean-up work [...]
Posted on: Thursday, April 5th, 2012
It is just a fact of life that fuel oil tanks inherently leak. That is why there are standards imposed which govern not only the manufacture and installation of fuel oil tanks but the maintenance and removal. A reasonable person would assume if a fuel oil tank is new or [...]
Posted on: Thursday, March 8th, 2012
It is important to turn your mind to whether a used residential property is subject to HST if that property is larger than a half hectare. Revenue Canada’s definition of a principal residence includes a limit on the land size to a half hectare. This is the amount of land [...]
Posted on: Wednesday, February 15th, 2012
I am often asked what my opinion is on whether Seller Property Information Statements (SPIS) should be used in a real estate transaction. This question has become more common in the past year, after recent court decisions where real estate agents were held to have not discharged their obligation to [...]
Posted on: Wednesday, February 1st, 2012
There is no excuse today for real estate agents not to be aware that the environmental status of properties needs to be addressed in the purchase agreement. By becoming aware of the issues, real estate agents can avoid the discovery of unexpected environmental issues. Environmental liability is applied to a [...]