15/01/2020 – Jurisdiction Ontario
Part 69 published on 01/03/2020
Condominium corporation failed to take reasonable steps to address certain complaints from the owner, particularly complaints about water infiltration
The owner alleged that the condominium corporation had failed to act reasonably to repair and maintain the common elements, particularly with respect to basement and roof water penetration issues which had been the subject of complaints from the owner. The owner also alleged that the status certificate issued to her at the time of her purchase had failed to properly disclose a coming special assessment.
The Court agreed that the condominium corporation’s “actions in relation to the basement and roof water penetration were not reasonable in the circumstances” and awarded resulting damages to the owner.
The Court dismissed the owner’s claim in relation to the status certificate.
In terms of the water penetration issues, the Court said:
I am not holding the condominium corporation to a standard of perfection or strict liability, but only to what I consider to be reasonable (or unreasonable) in the circumstances.
The Court ordered the condominium corporation to pay damages to the owner, under the following categories:
- Lost rental income;
- Mould remediation;
- Certain out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the owner for repairs and inspections.
The Court denied the owner’s claims for common expenses, property taxes, certain other repairs to the unit and for oppression.
In terms of the status certificate, the Court held that the condominium corporation did not have actual knowledge of a possible special assessment at the time the status certificate was issued. Furthermore, the corporation’s failure to undertake a required reserve fund study with a site inspection (prior to issuance of the status certificate) was not considered important for two reasons:
- There was no evidence that such a reserve fund study, if it had been completed, would have revealed the need for the special assessment; and
- The language of the status certificate speaks of “actual” knowledge, not knowledge that might have been acquired through greater diligence