PETS AND CONDOS AND/OR LOFTS

Owning a condo or loft is decidedly different than owning a freehold property. Many people mistakenly see condos and lofts as simply another residential alternative associating the resulting lifestyle to that of conventional housing. Have you ever noticed conventional houses, say a double where one neighbour has painted everything one colour and the other does theirs a completely different colour and façade? That would drive me crazy!

I actually have a condo client who experienced exactly this “neighbour from hell” scenario and funnily a top producing Realtor friend of mine up in Woodbridge (not the end of the world but on a clear day I’m told you can see the end of the world from there - sorry locals but I’m an urbanite and proud of it and although I agree that for families this bedroom community offers endless possibilities, for me it‘s the concrete and convenience of downtown living.

When you buy a condo or loft you are becoming a pioneer for an entirely new residential community. You can comfortably own a condo or loft as an isolationist but the inherent concept of condo (I’m not going to qualify “loft” throughout the article as a loft is in fact a condo under law that is just the artistic concept of a residence retrofitted from a warehouse) is based on a lifestyle resulting from a foundation of community.

Out in the streets of the city you can do whatever you want to your “freehold” (legal structure of ownership) property. When you consider the condo lifestyle you are agreeing to become a member of a community. This community is governed by all of the owners. This governance is manifested in the formation of a corporation (non-profit) that is formed at “Registration” or “title transfer date” as referred to in many condo documents. The governance of the corporation is entrusted to a board of directors that is duly elected by all of the owners. I cannot begin to tell you in this article (that’s an article in and of itself) the importance of the owners electing a qualified Board to administer the condo corporation and ultimate run the building (community).

The developer was required to submit a Disclosure Statement by the Municipality which sets out all of the material information pertaining to the new condo and was required to give this Disclosure Statement to each purchaser prior to their purchase becoming “firm”. This is all set out in the Condo Act. In this Disclosure Statement all policies and procedures, Rules and Regulations, etc. are clearly set out and one area therein relates specifically to pets.

Many purchasers are under the false impressions that pet policies can be taken lightly and I can tell you right here that this is NOT the case. As a pet owner I can relate to the ties with your pets so clearly before doing anything, you will want to clarify any development’s pet policy prior to doing anything else. On NO terms should you ever assume that you can disregard these policies or even change them as changes require a majority (usually about 80%) of owners to vote in favour. Orchestrating such votes alone can prove onerous let alone influencing the outcome.

When buying into a condo or loft you must be prepared to be part of the community and recognize that the rules are to take care of everyone and usually there are NO exceptions. I am frequently asked why and/or how and condominium corporation can stipulate no pets when they “own” their own unit?

The answer is quite simple and straight forward. If the Declaration (Disclosure Statement) provides for “No Pets” or “Pets with Restrictions” . . . you must obey. In 1997 a case between Ms. Amy Hogg and a Peel Condo Corporation (“No 499”) was litigated. The issue was, “could Ms. Hogg keep her dog in her high rise condo even though the declaration said no pets”? Ms. Hogg had hired a lawyer, had a disclosure statement, knew about the rule but saw that others were breaking it. The Judge said that strictly under the law she had to obey the rules.

Ms. Hogg lost and had to either give up the dog or move out of the condo. Since that case there have been a few cases where if you have a provable handicap and can demonstrate a bonified need for the pet to assist with said handicap, you may prevail (i.e. seeing eye dog).

The moral of the story is to retain a professional Buyer’s Agent who knows the market (both resales and presales) and have us narrow down the field for you (why look at something that you can’t buy).

Lofts have a more liberal tendency to allow pets as it is perceived as part of the culture. If you are someone who just cannot tolerate Rules and Regulations then you would want to reconsider condo/loft living as these are the juice that makes the lifestyle so rewarding.

Your community has to flow freely which requires communication and participation of owners. So, even before you buy make absolutely sure that you know and understand the building’s pet policy. It must be set out in the Disclosure Statement and Rules and Regulations (or frequently referred to as the “Bundle of Documents”.

For now, I’ll say good bye and get back to work.