SPIS ~ Kaufmann and Gibson

Disclosue: ice damming This is a case involving the improper completion of the Seller Property Information Statement by the vendors. The Kaufmanns resided in London Ontario and acquired their residence …

SPIS ~ Riley and Langfield

Disclosure: Real estate agents are not simply tour guides This is another interesting Seller Property Information Statement (SPIS) case.The purchasers sought to recover damages in the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario …

SPIS ~ Alevizos and Nirula

Disclosure This is another Property Condition Disclosure Statement case. This case came before the Manitoba Court of Appeal for consideration in 2003. It is one the highest Courts to discuss this document, …

Unfair Business Practices

Consumer Protection Act The Business Practices Act was a very good piece of legislation, but not too many people knew about it, so in 2007 the Ontario Government replaced it …

The “Dock” Dispute

Neighbours of waterfront properties on Lake Simcoe  fought for years over a dock. Finally, the Ontario Court of Appeal ordered the removal of a dock, punitive damages of $100,000, and …

The Legal Duty to Speak Up

The Supreme Court of Canada updated the law on honesty and good faith in contracts in Callow v. Zollinger released on 18 December 2020. This case is an expansion of …

Silence is No Longer Golden

Supreme Court Expands Upon Bhasin v. Hrynew The Supreme Court of Canada has had an opportunity to add to its decision in Bhasin v. Hrynew. A breach of the duty …

What Happened to Caveat Emptor?

For centuries, real estate transactions have been sold under the caveat emptor doctrine, that is: “Let the Buyer Beware”. More recently, this was upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada …

Unregistered Easements

There is a significant problem with unregistered easements. They are not on title and therefore a real estate agent should investigate matters in order to determine whether they may be …

Land Titles and Prescriptive Rights

Let’s assume the property was transferred to Land Titles Qualified on 7 October 2016. What does this mean? Are there prescriptive easements? Maybe, and maybe not! Nothing could happen since …