Legal Issues

Agents often require buyer clients to enter into a Buyer’s Representation Agreement (BRA), which sets out the buyer’s agreement to pay the agent a commission on certain terms.

Estates law in Ontario has undergone a noteworthy change: There has been a sizeable increase to the value of what is known as a surviving spouse’s “preferential share” of the other spouse’s estate.

Purchasers should take these risks to heart: the courts will not impose a duty on purchasers to extend closing dates, as it would effectively be to condone breach of contract.

While the discovery of incorrect descriptions as to the size of a property or unpermitted renovations may allow a buyer to terminate a purchase transaction, that is not always the case.

This case addresses the interesting issue of whether the words “signed, sealed and delivered”, which appears on the standard form OREA Agreement to Purchase and Sale, meets the “sealed contract” rule in law.

A recent decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice addressed whether the use of a ROW could be restricted to the owners of the non-waterfront cottage and their non-paying guests, in order to prevent the use of the ROW by users of Airbnb.

In the City of Toronto, the rules around hosting, offering or providing short-term rentals are not as free-wheeling and flexible as they were previously, or as one might hope.

So what happens when a buyer purchases a property under the mistaken belief that it measures 2,000-2,500 square feet, and later finds out, before closing, that is it actually only 1,450 square feet?

There are scenarios in which foreign nationals can be exempted, legally avoid the tax or be entitled for a full Non-Resident Speculation Tax (NRST) rebate. It is very simple!

“I am of the view that once a building permit is granted, the municipality has an obligation to inspect the building to comply with the act and the requisite Building Code," wrote Justice P.W Sutherland.