Loft Hunting

Noise Issues in Condos & Lofts — What Can You Do?

RobertVR — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 18:26:39 +0000

I always make an effort to blog about topics that clients ‘frequently’ ask me about, and this comes up often!

When looking for a condo, one thing that can cause a bit of hesitation is living in such close quarters with others: what if it gets noisy, and what can you do about it?

That’s not to say that condo noise is an overly common problem though, as most condos are built with soundproofing in their floors, ceilings and walls.

But noise issues still remain a concern for condo buyers, and one I hear about often (interestingly though, before the purchase – rarely after).

If you do encounter a noisy neighbour, what can you do? In extreme cases, can the noise maker be forced to sell their condo and leave if they are frequently disruptive? There’s also the awkward issue of getting your well-deserved quiet without creating animosity between neighbours.

Most condo buildings have 24-hour security, and all the owners have to do to is give them a call. Security will then visit the suite themselves or call the police if they can’t convince the offenders to knock it off. Owners don’t have to call the police on noisy neighbours, and the owners who initially make noise complaints are also pretty far removed from the process (and don’t have to give their information if they don’t want to), as security, the police or even property management will take over from there.

If the police show up, they can issue fines in the forms of tickets for offences such as disturbing the peace. But what if police intervention doesn’t deter noisy neighbours? There are two things that can happen.

The first is that property management takes action. Property management reads the daily reports written by your building’s security and can send a warning letter, followed by a lawyer’s letter. If the problem persists, arbitration could be next.

It is highly unlikely a court will force an owner to sell their unit and move away. In fact, I only found five cases that have passed through the Ontario Superior Court where this has been the outcome, but it is still a possibility – however slim. Either way, your property management should be able to put a stop to the noise problem.

The second thing that can happen is that property management does nothing. In this case, the complainant will need to keep a record of the noise and a record of their complaints. If the situation is still not resolved despite a solid history of complaints, the complainant can take property management to court and have them ordered to enforce their own noise rules – which is mandatory as per the Condominium Act.

In the meantime, owners can also consider buying affordable soundproofing panels to make life in their condo a bit more enjoyable. I looked into a few companies that do this and it’s less expensive than I thought it would be.

I hope you found this post to be informative. Let me know if you have any questions or comments — and as always, I thank you for your past and future business and any referrals you may have are always greatly appreciated!

Pet ownership in condos/lofts — rules & regulations

RobertVR — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 02:47:34 +0000

For this post, I’ll be focusing on pet ownership in condos/lofts. I get a lot of inquiries about this and maybe a bit less than fifty percent of my clients have pets. One thing I have learned time and time again is that they have a lot more influence in a buying decision than they may realize…

Whether or not pets are allowed in a building is a big deciding factor for some buyers choosing to purchase a condo. However, it’s not uncommon for pet owners to move into “pet restricted” buildings anyway, being completely aware of the risk involved. I always tell my clients that the risk is high, as management will at least enter the unit annually to check the fire alarm.

If a pet is discovered, the board may end up taking you to court to have the rules enforced. This is costly and time-consuming for the condo board and that alone may deter them from bothering. However, a determined board may go through with it.

What I’ve learned is that the court’s decision will usually depend on whether the condo has a history of actually enforcing their “no pet” rules. If not, the court could rule in the pet owners favour. However, the majority of Ontario courts end up ruling on behalf of the condominium. Luckily for pet owners, reasons behind their decisions are diverse: in one 2005 Ontario case, a cat in a “no pets” condo was allowed to stay because it had lived there for 10 years and was “invisible” to other residents.

Changing the Rules

It can be done. If a condo owner who wants a pet in a “no pet” building can convince 80 percent of the owners to agree to a rule change, they can have the rules changed. In practice however, this would be very difficult as many condo owners are generally apathetic to these issues and on average, 20% of your building may be rented — meaning the owners are not actually living in the building. But keep in mind that pet-free living is the only option for some people, who may have severe allergies. In addition, some of the owners in the building may be understandably upset if they’ve already given away their own pets to follow the rules.

Apartment Buildings

Apartment buildings are different from condos. If a lease says “no pets”, the law overrules this clause: the Landlord Tenant Act was amended in 1990 after a Supreme Court decision upheld a couple’s eviction from an apartment because they had a cat despite a “no pets” rule. The result was an overwhelming number of evictions and a flood of abandoned pets into nearby shelters. Today, pet owners cannot be evicted for having pets unless they are a nuisance or are dangerous. However, condos have their own sets of rules that don’t fall under the Ontario Residential Tenancies Act, and rental apartments within condominiums must also abide by these pre-existing condo rules.

Finding a Condo That Allows Pets

Condo living is certainly not out of the question for pet lovers, as the vast majority of condos in Toronto allow pets. Some people may feel the opposite is true as most listings indicate that pets are not allowed. The reason is because the “pet” field is left at “no” as the default, and many agents unfortunately do not bother to confirm the buildings position on pets and leave it as is.

I hope you found this newsletter to be informative! Have any questions or comments? Feel free to contact me.

- Robert Van Rhijn

“Latent Defects” — Must a seller disclose a murder in their home… or if it’s haunted?

RobertVR — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 02:42:43 +0000

With about four years in the real estate business now, I can tell you that this doesn’t come up often, but it does ‘just’ enough to justify my first newsletter being on the topic.

If you’re in the market to buy a home, this question may have crossed your mind with Halloween having just passed us by.

Hollywood often takes liberties with the legalities of this particular situation. A seller may state that for legal reasons, they must disclose a recent murder or suicide to the buyer. The buyer is undaunted and buys the home anyway, and thus begins your average horror movie.

The real estate terminology for such a home is “psychologically impacted” – which includes homes where murders or suicides have taken place and even homes ‘reputed’ to be haunted. Of course, it’s impossible to prove a house is actually haunted – and equally impossible to prove it’s not – whether or not you believe in ghosts.

Disclosure and the law

In Canada, the laws surrounding this issue can be called “muddy” at best. Material facts must be disclosed about a home and its history, but whether hauntings or murders are “material facts” is up for debate. In the United States, laws vary by state.

The most famous case involving haunted houses and real estate law occurred in New York in 1991. The seller experienced strange happenings in her home, later writing about it in Reader’s Digest. She sold the home to a man who later learned about the purported haunting, and he sued her for misrepresentation. Whether or not the home was actually haunted didn’t matter because the seller had publicly said it was haunted, making it haunted in the eyes of the law. This classified the haunting as a defect the buyer would not know about and could not be found during a home inspection, meaning the seller misrepresented the home.

Would you buy a ‘Murder House’?

Buyers may have legal recourse if they decide they no longer want a home they have committed to buy upon discovering a murder has taken place there. Specifics, such as a murder still being unsolved, can also make the buyer fear for their safety and give them even more of a case.

If something tragic has happened in a home, but poses no threat to the safety of potential buyers, it is essentially a non-issue in the eyes of the Canadian real estate world. But if a masked slasher returns to the home every Halloween night to wreak havoc, the buyers should probably be informed.

It is also important to note that the real estate broker cannot tell the buyers what the seller has neglected to tell them in the first place. It is probably best for the seller to inform the buyer as much as possible to avoid legal and financial headaches down the road.

Would you buy a home where a murder has taken place? What about a haunted house? Let me know!

- Robert Van Rhijn