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Canadian Real Property Law Blog Quarterly Review

This is our Quarterly Review, highlighting posts on our Canadian Real Property Law Blog: The Lay of the Land. Follow the links to any of these specific posts, or visit the blog, where you can sign up to get each new post as it is published. As always, your comments and suggestions are most welcome.

Keeping it Enforceable – The Essential Terms of a Purchase Contract
By Cameron Whyte on September 29th, 2014

It is not uncommon for parties to enter into contracts for the purchase and sale of real estate that contain defects which may affect their enforceability.

To be enforceable, a purchase contract must set out the essential terms of the …

Waiving “formalities” in a Procurement Process: What Owners and Bidders Need to Know
By Julie Parla on September 23rd, 2014

It is not unusual for tender documents to reserve discretion to an owner to “waive formalities” in accepting a bid. Such discretion needs to be interpreted in the context of the requirement that an owner may in no circumstances accept …

New Building Bylaw: No More Door Knobs
By Conrad Rego on September 15th, 2014

In September, 2013, Vancouver City Council approved a new 2014 City of Vancouver Building Bylaw. According to the City, the 2014 Building Bylaw 10908, which covers detached houses and low-rise residential buildings, brings about changes to the current Building Bylaw …

Superintendent of Real Estate Publishes Amended Policy Statements pursuant to Real Estate Development Marketing Act (British Columbia)
By Craig Shirreff on September 8th, 2014

On May 29, 2014, a number of important amendments to the Real Estate Development Marketing Act became effective. Scott Smythe and Jennifer Hayes have both commented on these amendments in previous blog posts (see http://www.canadianrealpropertylawblog.com/2014/03/redma-revisited/ and http://www.canadianrealpropertylawblog.com/2014/08/redma-an-update/). The …

Covenants to Insure
By Michael Nienhuis and Will Skinner on September 5th, 2014

In most commercial leases, the landlord and tenant obligate themselves to obtain policies of insurance against certain risks. This often includes, for the landlord, property insurance for the building and boiler equipment, liability and property policies for the landlord’s operations …

Interpretation of Leases 101: Top 10 Rules
By Bram Costin and Matthew McCarthy on August 28th, 2014

One of the trickiest parts of drafting any commercial agreement, including a lease, is anticipating how all its provisions will be interpreted once it is in effect. Differing interpretations can lead to disagreements between the contracting parties, and possibly to …

Good News for Strata Resorts In BC
By Jennifer Hayes on August 19th, 2014

The Supreme Court of British Columbia, in its recent decision in 585582 B.C. Ltd. v. Anderson, upheld as valid and enforceable a mandatory rental pool restrictive covenant registered against strata lots in a resort development. The covenant in question …

REDMA – An Update
By Jennifer Hayes on August 19th, 2014

On May 29, 2014, Bill 17, the Miscellaneous Statutes Amendment Act, 2014, received Royal Assent, bringing into force several amendments and additions to the Real Estate Development Marketing Act (British Columbia) previously discussed in detail in my colleague …

Disclosure re: Deposit Protection Contract Requires Careful Drafting
By Lisa Martz on August 11th, 2014

In Chaisson v. Avra Developments Corp. 2014 BCSC 925, the B.C. Supreme Court considered the argument that a developer’s failure to disclose a specific calendar date for the effective date of a deposit protection contract was a breach of the …

Proposed Amendments to Alberta’s Condominium Property Act
By Brittany Weikum on August 5th, 2014

On May 6, 2014 amendments to Alberta’s Condominium Property Act were introduced into the Alberta Legislature. The Actestablishes the framework for the development, sale, and governance of both residential and commercial condominiums located in Alberta and outlines the duties …

BC Court of Appeal Affirms Distressing Decision
By Scott Smythe and Aidan Cameron on July 29th, 2014

On December 30, 2013, we wrote about the BC Supreme Court’s decision in Delane Industry Co. Ltd. v. PCI Properties Corp., 2013 BCSC 1397, where the Court held that a landlord’s termination of a commercial lease was ineffective because …

Is Your Joint Venture GST/HST-compliant?
By Charlene Schafer on July 22nd, 2014

There is less than 6 months remaining until the expiry of the Canada Revenue Agency’s administrative tolerance for non-compliant joint venture nominee corporations to report and claim input tax credits in respect of GST/HST …

Aboriginal title declared in historic SCC decision, Tsilhqot’in Nation v. British Columbia
By Conrad Rego on July 14th, 2014

The following post on the Canadian Energy Perspective blog written by Sam Adkins, Stephanie Axmann and Selina Lee-Andersen on June 27, 2014 may be of interest to readers of this blog:

On June 26, 2014, the Supreme Court of …

Purchasers’ liens remain an uncommon remedy
By Vanessa Lunday on July 8th, 2014

Earlier this year, we discussed the decision of the BC Supreme Court in Pan Canadian Mortgage Group v. 679972 B.C. Ltd. in our publication Real Estate MATTERS. That decision was significant because it was a rare instance in which …

What a Relief! BC Court of Appeal decides that equitable relief from forfeiture not available to residential tenants
By Scott Smythe on July 2nd, 2014

A commercial tenant may apply to court for relief from forfeiture when faced with the termination of its lease by a landlord, but can a residential tenant also seek such relief? That question was recently answered by a 5 member …