The big threat—lien your unit

The nasty, vicious boards have learnt from their property managers and their corporation lawyers that they can keep the owners in line—and themselves in power—by sending owners a legal letter saying they violated some rule, by-law or something in the declaration and if they do not pay a few hundred dollars, the legal costs involved in writing the letter, within a given time, they will add the costs to their monthly common maintenance fees.

Failure to pay their fees will result in a lien being registered on their unit.

How common is this?
It is far more common than most condo owners would ever suspect. The beauty is that the "violation" can be extremely petty and the rule can be ignored by many of the residents.

How to react
Whatever you do, don't ignore that letter. That would be a huge mistake.

Sent the lawyer a cheque for the amount demanded. At the bottom of the cheque, in the Memo section, write "Under protest". This gives you the option of suing the corporation later, either in small claims or in superior court.

Keep your nose clean
Make sure that the other owners and yourself obey the declaration, by-laws and rules to the letter. At the same time record all violations of a similar nature by the directors, their supporters and all other owners.

That will be so important down the road.

Section 134.(5)
Section 134. (5) of the Ontario Condominium Act states:

If a corporation obtains an award of damages or costs in an order made against an owner or occupier of a unit, the damages or costs, together with any additional actual costs to the corporation in obtaining the order, shall be added to the common expenses for the unit and the corporation may specify a time for payment by the owner of the unit.  1998, c. 19, s. 134 (5).

So, if the condo corporation is awarded costs against the owner, the costs can run into the tens of thousands. So pay the small amount to keep the costs down and then sue later to get your money back.

Retain your own lawyer
When the corporation sends you a legal letter, it is time to call a lawyer who is experienced in condominium law to arrange for a consultation.

Time to decide
Do you want to continue the fight, back off or is it time to sell?

If you do not have the majority of owners with you, it probably be far cheaper and healthier to sell your unit.


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