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Real Property Development

Creative and customized approaches for structuring, developing and selling projects

Our national Real Property & Planning Group has championed novel development solutions for decades. As Canada’s leading and most experienced real estate practice, our adept advice empowers rapid results and transforms project outcomes.

Dependable support

Developers turn to our team for comprehensive guidance for their large residential, commercial, fractional, condominium, hotel, planned community, resort, and mixed-use properties. We intimately understand the issues, opportunities and pressures associated with the property development business, offering result-oriented solutions to expedite project processes. With our team, you receive advice across the full spectrum of legal challenges which may arise during your project’s development, including:

  • structuring the appropriate ownership vehicle;
  • obtaining municipal approvals and permits, and implementing development structures, including complex conventional and air space subdivisions;
  • negotiating and drafting construction contracts and related matters;
  • insight into effective construction financing;
  • advising on all condominium development matters, including common and shared facilities, exclusive use areas, mixed-use issues, cost-sharing and phasing;
  • preparing disclosure statements for pre-sales, ensuring compliance with securities and marketing regulations, conveying the individual units and advising on and/or pursuing formal legal proceedings as necessary to deal with purchasers who fail to complete their purchase.

You benefit from informed advice to mitigate risk and capitalize on existing opportunities, leveraging the expertise of our colleagues specializing in tax, environmental, municipal, litigation, aboriginal, insolvency, labour and employment, financial services and securities law.

Pioneers at the forefront of development

Our team boasts an impressive record of leadership in many legal areas related to real estate development. Among our accomplishments, we:

  • are regularly consulted by governments and industry groups on proposed legislation and critical developments to real estate law;
  • regularly assist developers with marketing and selling foreign real estate in Canada and across provincial boundaries, and have led the way in obtaining necessary exemptions from applicable regulators;
  • were among the first to tackle the issues associated with air space subdivisions;
  • are at the forefront of policy development in the area of the sale of rental pool units;
  • originated structures for fractional ownership and residence clubs which have now become the industry standard, and are distinguished as one of the few firms in Canada with significant experience in timeshares;
  • wrote the desk book for developing condominiums: McCarthy Tétrault's Annotated British Columbia Strata Property Act for developers, property managers and strata corporations in B.C.

Take your project to the next level with top-ranked legal collaboration.