Nice Car!

Condos

4 minute read

October 15, 2010

Here’s a story from the files of, you have got to be kidding me!

A first-time condo buyer moved into his new home, eager as a beaver, but property management quickly wiped the smile off his face and threw his life into disarray.

They told him he wasn’t allowed to park his car in his own space…

undergroundparkinglot.jpg

My buyers often ask me, “What does a real estate lawyer actually do?”

Perhaps it’s better to let them explain, but let’s just say that the deal wouldn’t close if they didn’t transfer the funds, register the mortgage, search the title to the property and eventually change the title, and in the case of a condominium – examine the status certificate.

I cringe when my buyers tell me, “Thanks for recommending your lawyer, but my brother’s friend’s cleaning lady knows a lawyer who will do it for $150 less.”

Really?

$150 less for a lawyer, and you’re willing to jeopardize your $450,000 purchase?

If you say so…

Maybe it’s not as cut and dry as a “bad lawyer” versus a “good lawyer,” but you can easily distinguish between a “lazy lawyer” and a “thorough lawyer.”

Case in point, a horror story I heard about on Thursday afternoon from a colleague. at the Toronto Real Estate Board.

A first-time condo buyer entered into an Agreement of Purchase & Sale for a resale condo, and after his lawyer examined the status certificate, they signed a waiver.

The buyer closed on the deal sixty days later, and moved into his new home.

He spent the weekend moving his possessions into the condo, and made countless trips with his van from his old apartment to the underground parking garage in the new condo.

On Monday morning, he was given a notice by property management kindly asking him to refrain from parking his vehicle in his owned parking space.

They cited a section of the Condominium Declaration and explained why.

They had deemed his vehicle to be a commercial vehicle.

And as per the Condominium Declaration, commercial vehicles were not allowed!

What made his vehicle “commercial?”

He had decals for his business running up and down the sides of the vans.  I can’t say what his business was, but have you ever seen a van or a truck from a landscaping company, computer technician, or even a cheese-eating real estate agent?  They all have huge decals covering the exterior of the van which advertise their business!

Property management had seen this, and deemed his vehicle to be “commercial” in nature.

They promptly served him with a notice that he was violating code 22-7-bla-bla and instructed him to remove his vehicle, and refrain from parking it there.

Naturally, the new resident put up a fight.  But you can only fight the rules for so long if they truly are “the rules,” which these rules were – clearly outlined in the status certificate which his lawyer had (supposedly) read.

The new resident was, for lack of a better phrase, completely screwed.

He didn’t have anybody at work that he could “switch” with, since he was the sole-proprietor of his business.

In all likelihood, he would be forced to rent out his space in the building, and then lease a space in an outdoor lot nearby.

Talk about putting a damper on “one of the most exciting moments of you life!”

Before I get into “who’s to blame,” let’s first consider the common sense element of this supposed rule.

There was a much-publicized case last year about a paraplegic condo owner who was asked to refrain from parking his car in the underground space that he owned, since it was “too wide” for the space as he had a special door apparatus to help him get inside the vehicle.

The idea that a condominium board wouldn’t make an exception for a person in his position was preposterous and after much publicity (one might say because of the publicity), the condo board relented.

If I was the new resident at the condominium that didn’t allow “commercial vehicles,” I might appeal to the condo board on a special-case basis to try and reason with them.  Of course, knowing me, I would probably resort to tearing them apart on my blog and putting videos on YouTube if they didn’t cede my demands…..er, I mean, requests

But seriously, I would get into a legal discussion about what constitutes a “commercial vehicle.”  I’d try to find a dozen sources and definitions of the phrase, and pick the ones that didn’t make my vehicle look like a commercial vehicle and submit them to the board.  I’d look for clauses in other condominium declarations that outline what a commercial vehicle is, or any court cases that have deal with this before.  I’d wrap it all up in a nice little letter from my lawyer threatening to take the condo board to court.

Then, I would call the condominium corporation’s solicitor, and talk to them about jelly-beans for an hour, knowing that they’ll charge the $400/hour fee back to the condo corporation.  It could get awfully expensive for the condo board to fight something so frivolous!  And even though I would likely lose any arguments presented in court (I mean, what would I argue?  The Canadian Charter of Rights And Freedoms?), I don’t think a condominium corporation could afford the troubles.

Moving on…

So who truly is to blame?

You could argue that the real estate lawyer was to blame, since he didn’t catch the rule about the commercial vehicles not being allowed in the underground parking, but did he know that his client – the condo buyer, was driving a commercial vehicle?

I don’t think that’s fair.  But we don’t know what the definition of “commercial vehicle” was.  If the Condominium Declaration and Rules actually defined the vehicle as “containing decals,” etc., then perhaps the lawyer should have mentioned something.  But again – does he know what his client does for a living?

Certainly we don’t expect a first-time buyer to ask his lawyer, “Just wondering, but am I going to run into any trouble at my new condo since I have decals on my vehicle?”

No way.

What’s the difference between having six bumper-stickers and having decals?  How does the condo board draw the line?

I’ll be VERY interested to see how this one pans out, if it’s taken to the next level.

In the end, I don’t think anybody is to blame, unfortunately.

This is just one of those bizarre cases with winners and losers, but no real guilty party.

Every condominium has different rules, and maybe it’s time that the condo owners themselves read the rules instead of just their lawyers…

Written By David Fleming

David Fleming is the author of Toronto Realty Blog, founded in 2007. He combined his passion for writing and real estate to create a space for honest information and two-way communication in a complex and dynamic market. David is a licensed Broker and the Broker of Record for Bosley – Toronto Realty Group

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9 Comments

  1. Kyle

    at 10:12 am

    I think he should consider joining the condo board. I imagine it’s a lot harder for the condo board nazi to tell the another board member face-to-face, why he can’t be park his own car in his own spot.

  2. Princess Clara

    at 4:27 pm

    Why the hell does it matter what a car is used for?
    Pardon my ignorance, but it seems that as long as whatever your driving doesnt overflow into the next parking spot.. who really cares how many old guys faces or company logos you have on the sides of your car? Why are clauses like this even allowed to exist?

    …Or is this a common thing in condos?

  3. meow

    at 1:28 am

    It wasn’t until I got my keys to my condo did I read in the status certificate that I wasn’t allowed to have a visitor with a dog enter the building. Oh, and if I myself wanted to get a dog it had to be under 12 lbs.

  4. LC

    at 8:54 pm

    Call me crazy, but I’d expect my real estate agent to bring something like that to my attention, especially if was the agent who found the property . Sloppy.

  5. David Fleming

    at 9:40 pm

    @ LC

    Perhaps I’m biased, but I just don’t think there’s any way a Realtor can be expected to dig out a single line of text buried in a 200-page condominium Status Certificate. It’s the lawyer that performs the review of the Status.

    Honestly, I’ve never seen this happen before in a Toronto condo. Call it “one in a million.”

  6. LC

    at 8:14 am

    @Dave – I respectfully disagree. The stat certificate may be 200 pages but the rules section is around 2-8 pages. The lawyer only cares about liens and impending special assessments, not what car the client drives. It’s the realtor who is supposed to know their client’s needs and find a property that suits them. Otherwise, why work with an agent?

    And for the record, I’ve seen rules in several condos which do not allow “commercial” vehicles to park in the underground parking lot. Again, how experienced are these agents out there in looking out for their client’s interests? Just make sure they get granite countertops and stainless steel appliances…..

  7. David Fleming

    at 8:50 am

    @ LC

    I suppose if anybody knows what kind of car the buyer drives, it would be the Realtor – who has likely driven from property to property with the buyer!

  8. Trish

    at 8:46 pm

    I’m with David on this. I have purchased two condos, one old and one pre construction and both times I left the status certificate with my lawyer. He went through all pages and summarized what I was getting into, including the rules.

    Also, I don’t leave everything to chance, while my lawyer had the status certs, I too read it to ensure I was on the same page.

  9. DC

    at 11:38 pm

    +1 for getting on the Board. With staggered 3-year terms for most condo board members, there’s usually at least one spot open every year. One of the Board’s responsibilities (and power) is to review the Rules and update them as necessary. I should know because I have been on two condo boards over the past 10 years, and drafted our condo’s current rules. No, I didn’t include something as unreasonable as “no commercial vehicles”.

    As David says, it is uncommon for such bizarre rules to exist. Most board members (and property managers) have more common sense than that.

    If you do run for the board, you should obviously not run on a single item platform – rather, think of what you bring to the table against the incumbent. It’s very hard to unseat an incumbent, but if you find the right focus, it’s definitely possible. A backdoor way of getting involved is that most boards are always looking for volunteer to help with various committees (social committee, design committee, green committee, etc.) – why not suggest setting up a Rules review committee?

    I do agree that Real Estate Agents should have at least read through the condo documentation of their area of specialization (i.e. downtown core) and be able to point out things to their clients. If you read enough of these things, odd items (such as restriction on pet weights and restrictions on commercial vehicles, insufficient Reserve Fund, odd items in the budget) will just naturally pop out at you.

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