GUELPH LAWYERS SMITHVALERIOTE LLP
Forty years ago, condominiums were considered a unique alternative to home ownership. Today, condominiums now account for one-in-three of all new homes built in Ontario. As their numbers and diversity increase, condominiums are under increasing pressure to perform to their optimum. Given the recent and dramatic overhaul to Ontario's condominium legislation and regulations, providing tangible and effective legal advice to condominiums is no longer the purview of the generalist lawyer or firm.
At SmithValeriote our condominium practice group proudly offers the complete range of specialized and competitively priced legal services to condominiums, representing over 350 condominiums throughout Ontario. Our firm is very active in Guelph, Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Oakville, Burlington, Hamilton, the Niagara Peninsula, Brantford, Norfolk, Woodstock, Orangeville, North Bay, Muskoka, Mississauga and Toronto. With the advent of technology and our unique office location, our firm is able to offer specialized condominium legal services throughout Ontario, without the exceptional costs often found with specialized Toronto law firms.
Our condominium practice group offers a range of condominium legal services. To highlight, they include:
a. Condominium Act, 1998
Our condominium practice group is regularly asked to provide guidance on complying with Ontario's condominium legislation and regulations. Our firm regularly assists boards with interpreting a variety of condominium challenges, including; unit boundary analysis, maintenance and repair obligations, reserve fund requirements, substantial change procedures, status certificate drafting and human rights obligations. Our firm also actively assists with reviewing employment, service and telecommunication contracts.
b. Document Drafting & Registration
Our firm routinely acts for condominiums in the review, drafting, and creation of new declarations, governance by-laws, standard unit by-laws, rules, indemnity agreements, and shared facility agreements. Our practice group is constantly fine-tuning our collection of in-house precedents which we share with our condominium clients.
c. Enforcement
From a nuisance pet to a loud unit owner, our firm has handled numerous enforcement files. Our firm has worked from the cautionary letter stage up to unit owner removal proceedings. Our firm works with condominium boards to find practical and balanced enforcement strategies, only using litigation as a remedy of last resort. However, given our firm's commitment to provide the range of condominium legal services, our firm has specialized in-house condominium litigators, who regularly mediate/arbitrate or litigate condominium disputes in the courts. Our firm also acts for a number of condominiums that have suffered construction deficiencies; pursuing claims against developers, contractors and municipalities.
d. Liens & Powers of Sale
Our firm prides itself on having a streamlined and efficient process to collect condominium arrears. Utilizing customized software and highly trained support staff, our firm is often able to resolve most liens with the institutional lender. Our firm also has a standardized charge-back procedure for losses suffered by the condominium from the actions of a unit owner. If necessary, our firm collects unpaid liens via power of sale proceedings with success.
e. Construction Deficiencies
Our firm has also developed a unique specialty litigating condominium construction deficiencies. Unfortunately many new condominiums, especially conversions, are left incomplete or with serious structural deficiencies. Many condominiums are left paying significant bills, well beyond what unit owners can afford. Our condominium practice group includes experienced litigators who represent a number of condominiums aggressively pursuing developers to fulfill their obligations.
f. Municipal Counsel
Prior to approving new condominiums, municipalities are often confronted with an increasingly complex web of legal matters. Upon request, our condominium practice group advises municipal planning and legal departments in ensuring that a proposed condominium development conforms with both Ontario’s complex planning regime and the Condominium Act, 1998. When advising municipalities, such counsel is understandably for condominium developments that our firm has no involvement with. Our input has included reviews of proposed condominium development documents for legislative conformity and input towards the wording of draft plan of condominium conditions including; declarations, easements, shared facility agreements and storm water management areas.
Our firm is also firmly committed to the condominium industry. Our lawyers are members in the Canadian Condominium Institute (CCI), with memberships in the Golden-Horseshoe, Toronto, Huronia and London Chapters. Currently our practice group chair, Robert Mullin ACCI, is serving as President of the Golden-Horseshoe Chapter. In addition, our firm is a member of the Association of Condominium Managers of Ontario (ACMO). Our lawyers are frequent lecturers and authors of condominium articles, for both CCI courses and publications.
For more information, please contact our condominium practice group chair:
Robert M. Mullin, B.A.(Hons.), LL.B., LL.M., A.C.C.I. (Law).
SmithValeriote Law Firm LLP
105 Silvercreek Parkway, Suite 100,
Guelph, ON. N1H 6S4
Tel: (519) 837 – 2100, ext. 255.
Fax: (519) 837 – 1617
Email:Robert M. Mullin.