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Mortgagee can discharge certificate of pending litigation to enable power of sale (MCAN Home Mortgage Corporation v. Broad)
Monday, March 30, 2026James R.G. CookLitigation, Real EstateMortgage, Power of Sale
Where litigation concerns an interest in land, a party may seek to register a certificate of pending litigation (“CPL”) on title to the property at issue under section 103 of the Courts of Justice Act (the “CJA”)...
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Seller misrepresented right to assign agreement of purchase and sale (Qu v. Wang)
Friday, March 27, 2026James R.G. CookLitigation, Real EstateAgreement of Purchase and Sale, Misrepresentation
Buyers who agree to purchase a property from a builder may sometimes wish to assign their agreement to another buyer before the transaction has been completed...
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No oral contract between brothers over cottage ownership (Poole v. Poole)
Friday, March 20, 2026James R.G. CookLitigation, Real EstatePartition Act
As distasteful as they may be, a written contract between family members over jointly held property may be a prudent way to avoid...
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Motion for certificate of pending litigation dismissed in assignment dispute (Roopchan v. Abeywardena)
Tuesday, March 17, 2026James R.G. CookLitigation, Real EstateAgreement of Purchase and Sale, Mississauga, Fraudulent Conveyances Act
Does an assignment agreement give a right to an interest in a property? Under the terms of many assignment agreements, the...
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How GST/HST Works on Multi-Residential Rental Construction?
Wednesday, February 25, 2026Zev ZlotnickReal Estate, Business Law, Corporate LawGST, HST, Construction
For commercial mortgage lenders financing in-progress or newly completed multi-residential rental or retirement projects in Ontario, it is important to understand how GST/HST applies at completion...
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Landlord Considerations: To Term or to Terminate
Tuesday, February 17, 2026Tamara Katz, Daniel KuhnreichReal Estate, LitigationLandlord, Terminate
On February 18, 2026, the Supreme Court of Canada will hear the appeal of Canada Life Assurance Company v Aphria Inc...
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New Year, New Rules: Construction Act Amendments Explained
Tuesday, February 3, 2026Tamara Katz, Daniel KuhnreichReal Estate, LitigationConstruction Act, Rules
Several amendments to the Ontario Construction Act (the “Act”) came into force on January 1, 2026, pursuant to Bill 216, Building Ontario For You Act, and Bill 60, Fighting Delays, Building Fact Act...
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Retail Property Lending: Managing Risks Amid Changing Retail Landscapes
Wednesday, November 5, 2025Zev ZlotnickReal Estate, Business Law, Corporate LawRetail Property Lending
Commercial mortgage lending for retail properties in Ontario has become increasingly complex as the retail sector faces transformative market pressures...
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Squatter gains ownership of municipal parkland in Toronto (Kosicki v. Toronto (City))
Friday, October 10, 2025Stephen A. ThieleReal EstateAdverse Possession, Municipal Land
In Ontario, the law recognizes that a squatter can gain legal ownership of the land of the true owner in certain limited circumstances...
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Is a Witness Required for Personal Guarantees or Signatures?
Tuesday, August 12, 2025Zev ZlotnickBusiness Law, Corporate Law, Real EstateCommercial Real Estate, Personal Guarantees, Lending, Witness
When lending to corporations, commercial mortgage lenders often require personal guarantees from directors, shareholders, or beneficial owners...
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Multi-Residential Lending: Navigating Tenant Protection Laws and Recent Case Developments
Wednesday, May 28, 2025Zev ZlotnickBusiness Law, Corporate Law, Real EstateCommercial Real Estate, Lending, Multi-Residential Lending, Residential Tenancies Act
Lending on multi-residential properties in Ontario presents unique challenges that go beyond the physical asset. A critical factor for...
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Title Insurance vs Title Opinion
Thursday, April 24, 2025Zev ZlotnickBusiness Law, Corporate Law, Real EstateCommercial Mortgage, Mortgage, Title Insurance
Commercial mortgage lenders often prefer a lender's title insurance policy over a solicitor's title opinion for several key reasons...
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Super Priority Liens: What Commercial Mortgage Lenders Need to Know
Tuesday, March 4, 2025Zev ZlotnickBusiness Law, Real Estate, Corporate LawCommercial Mortgage, Compliance, Lending, Ontario
In Ontario, the concept of super priority liens refers to certain types of liens that take precedence over other claims on a property, even rights arising from a...
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Has the Construction Lien Period Expired?
Wednesday, January 8, 2025Zev ZlotnickReal Estate, Corporation, Business LawConstruction Liens, Liens
For commercial real estate lenders, advancing loan funds safely requires ensuring that no active construction liens can impact the property...
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Execution before judgment rejected in claim arising from aborted transaction (Leanne Homes Limited v. Singh)
Monday, December 16, 2024James R.G. CookLitigation, Real EstateMareva injunction
In Ontario, it may take several months to years before a plaintiff obtains judgment against a defendant in the...
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More or Less Mortgage Terms?
Tuesday, February 20, 2024Zev ZlotnickBusiness Law, Corporate Law, Real EstateMortgage, Commercial Mortgage
Dye & Durham Standard Charge Terms 200033 are the standard charge terms that are included in...
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Criminal Rate of Interest
Tuesday, February 13, 2024Zev ZlotnickCorporate Law, Business Law, Real EstateInterest, Interest Rates
Pursuant to Section 347 of the Criminal Code a criminal rate of interest is defined as an effective annual rate...
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Sellers not allowed to rely on “escape clause” to accept a better offer
Monday, November 29, 2021James R.G. CookLitigation, Real EstateAgreement of Purchase and Sale, GTA Real Estate
In some cases, sellers may wish to ‘hedge their bets’ by accepting a conditional offer that contains a term allowing them to continue to market the property for sale until...
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Buyers bound to agreement of purchase and sale negotiated by family friend
Tuesday, October 26, 2021James R.G. CookLitigation, Real EstateAgreement of Purchase and Sale, GTA Real Estate
Buyers who rely on real estate services provided by a family friend would do well to ensure that they are fully aware of the consequences of entering into a...
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Mortgage lender did not breach duty of honest contractual performance
Monday, October 25, 2021James R.G. CookLitigation, Real EstateOntario Mortgages Act
A mortgage lender enforcing its rights under a mortgage may owe the borrower a duty to do so honestly and in good faith. However, this does not mean that...
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Mortgage granted by defendant facing trial judgment set aside as a fraudulent conveyance
Thursday, October 7, 2021James R.G. CookLitigation, Real EstateFraudulent Conveyances Act
Defendants facing the prospect of an unfavourable ruling at trial should be aware that any conveyances or payments to third parties during...
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Dispute between neighbours over fence location results liability for trespass
Monday, October 4, 2021James R.G. CookLitigation, Real Estate
Fences may make good neighbours but not when they can’t agree on where the fence should be located. In Lombardo v. 2672140 Ontario Inc...
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Restrictive covenants and short-term vacation rentals
Monday, September 20, 2021Stephen A. ThieleLitigation, Real EstateCondominium, Restrictive Covenant, Short-term vacation rentals
Owning a condominium unit that can be leased for short-term vacation rentals can be exciting. Not only does the owner have a property at which to stay while on vacation without the need to pay for...
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Condominium owner liable for costs due to tenant’s misconduct
Friday, September 10, 2021James R.G. CookLitigation, Real EstateCondominium, Occupational Health and Safety Act, Condominium Act
Many condominium units are purchased as investment properties with the owners leasing out the units to tenants. This may result in a...
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Buyer entitled to repudiate agreement after discovering water damage
Wednesday, August 11, 2021James R.G. CookLitigation, Real EstateAgreement of Purchase and Sale, GTA Real Estate
During the period between the time an Agreement of Purchase and Sale (APS) is signed and the completion date, a property being purchased usually remains in...
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Buyers lose right to recover deposit after seller breaches agreement
Tuesday, August 3, 2021Litigation, Real EstateAgreement of Purchase and Sale
After an Agreement of Purchase and Sale (APS) is signed and a deposit is paid it may be weeks or months before the scheduled completion date. In the case of new properties under construction, it could be...
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Oral agreement to transfer family home results in years of litigation between father and daughter
Monday, July 5, 2021James R.G. CookLitigation, Real EstateMississauga, GTA Real Estate
Agreements between family members are often informal and not reduced to writing, even if they involve substantial assets such as real estate. The parties may think that they have agreed on some of the terms but...
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Court refuses to hear dispute over requisitions due to self-induced urgency
Friday, June 25, 2021James R.G. CookLitigation, Real EstateVendors and Purchasers Act
Currently, the civil hearings list in Toronto is backlogged and suffering from what one Superior Court Justice has called “unacceptably long timeouts for civil motions and applications due to the effects of the...
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Claim for Road Access Act and prescriptive easement to landlocked property dismissed
Friday, June 11, 2021James R.G. CookLitigation, Real EstateHighway Traffic Act, Ontario Road Access Act
In Balogh v. R.C. Yantha Electric Ltd., 2021 ONCA 266 (CanLII), the Court of Appeal for Ontario affirmed that the appellants had no right to cross the respondents’ land to get to their otherwise landlocked property.
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Compliance Order obtained against condominium owners for unruly behaviour and refusal to wear masks
Friday, May 14, 2021James R.G. CookLitigation, Real EstateCondominium, Compliance, Condominium Act, By-Laws, Masks
Living in a condominium requires a balancing of interests between the residents and compliance with the rules and by-laws that govern the community. No owner can be permitted run amok or...
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