Real Estate Law Blog

British Columbia’s new Guide Dog and Service Dog Act (which we wrote about in an earlier blog post) will come into force on January 18, 2016.

Corresponding changes to the Strata Property Act will also come into force on January 18, 2016.  Strata owners, occupants, tenants and visitors will be able to have their certified guide dog or service dog on strata premises, regardless ...

A recent decision of the BC Supreme Court demonstrates the difficulty of obtaining an order under Section 35 of the Property Law Act. The case will be of particular interest to developers who intend to rely on the Section as part of their development plans. Section 35 grants the Court authority to cancel or modify certain types of charges including easements, statutory rights ...

Condominiums and the concept of strata title have now been in existence in BC since 1966 when the Strata Titles Act was enacted.  Given rising property values and increased densification, strata properties are likely to continue to be a significant part of the Lower Mainland real estate market. The issue currently facing many strata developments is their age and the rising ...

In a recent decision from the BC Court of Appeal, the court once again had to struggle with the often difficult issue of what is a "chattel" and what becomes a "fixture" during the course of a commercial tenancy.  In the result, the court confirmed that the test of a chattel v. fixture is not a subjective one, but rather is objective.  Accordingly, although parties to a commercial ...

A proposed amendment to the British Columbia Strata Property Act was introduced in the provincial legislature on October 8, 2015 through Bill 40-2015.

Amongst other things, this proposed amendment will make it easier for owners to terminate or wind-up a strata corporation. Under the current Strata Property Act, a unanimous vote of all strata lot owners is required to ...

The Real Estate Services Act (British Columbia) (“RESA”) creates the regime that requires a person to be licensed prior to being permitted to provide “real estate services” in British Columbia to or on behalf of another, for or in expectation of payment. “Real estate services” include trading services, strata management services, and rental property ...

A recent Ontario Superior Court case will be of interest to commercial landlords and tenants alike.

In 1251614 Ontario Ltd v. Gurudutt, the tenant signed a 10 year lease that granted the tenant the right to renew the lease for 2 further terms of 5 years each, with rental rates to be negotiated at the time of renewal and settled by arbitration, if necessary. In addition, the lease ...

The recent decision of the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench in Alignvest Private Debt Ltd v Surefire Industries Ltd, 2015 ABQB 148 (“Alignvest”) raises important issues for landlords to consider respecting the provisions in a lease that deal with security deposits. In particular, Alignvest provides guidance on how landlords can protect their rights to a security ...

The Agricultural Land Reserve Use, Subdivision and Procedure Regulation (the “Regulation”) was amended on May 7, 2015 to identify federally licensed medical marijuana production under the Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations (Canada) (the “MMPR”) as a farm use in the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR). This amendment will allow local governments to ...

The new Societies Act is intended to provide greater flexibility to the internal governance of not-for-profit organizations, while enhancing accountability measures among charities and publicly funded societies. Some of the many proposed changes include implementing new corporate governance procedures, as well as distinguishing between publicly funded ...