Your Toronto Condo Declaration: What It Means

Your Toronto condo declaration contains all the information about your condominium suite and the building itself, including what is “exclusive use” (what is available for use exclusively to you, but not actually owned by you, such as your locker, balcony and sometimes parking spot), the boundaries of your condominium suite and rules such as whether or not pets are allowed, noise and what can be done in your suite with regards to physical changes or alterations.

Condo buildings have an obligation to enforce the rules set out in the condo declaration.

A condo declaration is something you really need to read, although unfortunately they are written by lawyers and can be difficult to understand – it might be useful to have your Toronto real estate agent or a real estate lawyer help you look it over so you know more about a condominium and the condo building before you buy it.

Condo buildings have a legal obligation to enforce the rules set out in the condominium declaration.  In fact, they have a legal obligation to enforce the rules all the time for everyone, and not just enforce them against certain people. This is why some people are able to sneak pets into a “no pets” condo – if the rules aren’t enforced in general, it’s not likely the condo will get a ruling in their favour if they take you to court over it.

Toronto real estate lawyer Bob Aaron’s latest Toronto Star column deals with the enforcement of condominium declaration rules in court, and what can happen when the condominium building doesn’t bother to enforce them all of the time. It’s definitely worth a read if you live in a condo or are considering downtown Toronto condo living!

« Toronto Condos Keep Breaking Records Through 2011 To 2012 | Home | What Is “Exclusive Use” In A Toronto Condo? »