Articles 2020

A summary of the current practice of evictions of small commercial tenants in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic. The author breaks down the different statutes and programs in place in several Canadian provinces.

The author discusses certain family law legislation (particularly the Family Law Act and the Partition Act) and legal principles when their clients are selling the matrimonial homes during a split, including when both spouses are on title and when only one spouse is on title.

In light of the recent LSO directions regarding remote commissioning, we have put together an outline of an approach that real estate lawyers can consider when obtaining a remote signature from a client. This is not legal advice and has not been approved by the Law Society of Ontario but is rather offered as a resource.

A review of the concept of caveat emptor and the possibility of holding a vendor's agent liable for non-disclosure of a major latent as a form of deception in real estate transactions.

The Law Society of Ontario is seeking input on the definitions of "finance company" and "lending client" by June 30, 2019.

The Canadian Bankers Association has a list of bank officials to contact regarding the discharge of mortgages, which will be routinely updated and was last updated on January 28, 2019.

What does the representation and warranty of "good working order" for chattels and fixtures in agreements of purchase and sale for real property mean? The authors summarize their recent experience reviewing the scarce case law on this subject.