A Warning to Owners Leasing their Units

A recent case provides a warning to owners leasing their units. Briefly, the facts are as follows. A unit owner leased her unit to a tenant. The tenant "did not live harmoniously with his neighbours" and was in constant conflict with management. He sued the condominium for over $5,000,000. The condominium's lawyer wrote to the owner to warn them that the costs incurred by the condominium to defend itself against the tenant's claim would be sought from them. The owner's son, who was power of attorney, ignored the warning and provided an affidavit in support of the tenant's claim against the condominium. The tenant's claim "failed miserably" and the condominium sought to recover about $86,000 in legal fees from the owner.  The owner refused to pay and the condominium registered a lien against the unit. The court found no reason to question the validity of the lien. The main argument presented by the defendants was that the owner was not properly served by the condominium. The court found that the owner was in India at the time and it was difficult for her own family to contact her. "It would not be realistic to require the corporation to serve her personally and the law does not require it." The court reviewed the new provisions of the Condominium Act, 1998 at paragraph 27:

The Condominium Act establishes what must be done to serve a document for the purposes of the Act:

• Section 46.1(3)(b) requires the corporation to keep a record of each unit owner’s address for service if that address is in Ontario.
•  Section 46.1(4) states that a document can be served on an owner in several different ways including delivery by prepaid mail addressed to the owner at the address for service that appears in the records of the corporation.

The court was satisfied that the documents were served on the owner when the condominium sent the document via registered and regular mail to the address for service provided by the owner. "There was nothing more that the corporation could do." The owner also disputed the validity of the process because the condominium did not bring an action or have a hearing before registering the lien. The court reviewed section 85(1) of the Act and confirmed the process does not require an action to be commenced prior to the registration of a lien against a unit. The condominium must register the lien within three months of the default and must provide notice of the lien at least ten days before registering it. The condominium satisfied the requirements of the Act. The owner tried to argue that it was not fair for them to be responsible for their tenant. In response, the court said:

[36]           The simple answer to the questions raised by the Sandhu family is that section 134(5) of the Condominium Act makes the unit owner responsible for the financial consequences of her tenant’s actions. If a corporation is awarded costs in an order which is made against an owner or an occupier of a unit, the costs, including the legal fees of the corporation, are added to the common expenses of the unit. That is simply the law of Ontario.

[37]           There are very good reasons for that law. One must consider the nature of condominiums and the rules that are necessary to regulate them. A condominium draws many strangers to live together in a single building. For many unit owners, the purchase of their condominium unit will be the largest financial investment of their lives. It is essential that the building is managed in a way that preserves the value of the property and maintains a sense of fairness for everyone.

[38]           The sense of fairness is created by imposing strict responsibilities both on unit owners and managing corporations. Unit owners are responsible for paying their share of the common expenses and for the conduct of any one who occupies their unit. The corporation is responsible for collecting the common expenses and notifying the unit owner of any troubling behaviour by a tenant. The purpose of the legislation is to ensure that the actions of a single unit owner do not give rise to additional expenses for all the other unit owners.

The court, while sympathetic to the owner's situation, granted judgment in favour of the condominium and granted it possession of the unit so it can sell the unit to recover the amounts owing under the lien.