06/14/2024 – Jurisdiction Ontario
Part 87 published on 01/09/2024
Tribunal upholds Board’s decision to strictly enforce parking provisions in Declaration
Thirty years previously, the condominium corporation had allowed owners to install garage doors on their parking spots. Since then, the owners had used their parking spots for parking as well as storage.
However, the corporation had recently given notice requiring that the parking spots be used only for parking (not storage) in accordance with the Declaration. The corporation had also repealed the long-standing rule that purported to permit storage in the parking spots.
The Respondents argued that the condominium corporation should be obligated to permit the storage to continue, given the condominium corporation’s long-standing rule that had permitted the storage and given the lengthy history (during which the condominium corporation had permitted the storage).
However, citing fire safety and other concerns, the Tribunal found that the condominium corporation could enforce the Declaration (which did not permit storage in the parking spots). The Tribunal also pointed to the non-waiver clause in the declaration, stating that past non-enforcement did not prevent current enforcement of the declaration.
The Tribunal accordingly ruled in favor of the condominium corporation and issued an order requiring the Respondents to remove all stored items within 60 days. The Tribunal held that the condominium corporation had a right to give reasonable notice to require removal of the stored items and (if not removed) to remove them and store them securely until the owners could retrieve them. The Respondents would be obligated to pay the costs of such removal and storage.
Middlesex Condominium Corporation No. 169 v. Doherty et al., 2024 ONCAT 84