McDonald vs. Halifax County Condominium Corporation No. 9 (Nova Scotia Small Claims Court)

This was a claim by a condominium unit owner against her condominium corporation for the cost of repairs to the interior of her unit, caused when her hot water tank leaked. The owner argued that, because the condominium corporation had insurance against this type of damage, the corporation should be required to pay for the damage. 

The Court dismissed the claim. The Court’s reasons were as follows:  

• ·        The corporation’s declaration stated that the owners were responsible to repair their units after damage. 

• ·        Under the terms of the declaration, the corporation was obligated to obtain unit insurance. However, this obligation did not apply in this case because the duty to repair the unit had been “transferred via the declaration to the owner”. The Court said: “In my opinion the obligation imposed on the corporation by Article 4.18 (3)(A)(b) of the declaration to insure the cost of repairing the unit has to be read in the context of who has the primary duty to repair that unit.”

• ·        The owner was obligated to arrange insurance for the unit because the owner was obligated to repair the unit.