Advantages Condo

According to the report of the Advisory Committee on the co-ownership the latter has found during the public hearings the phenomenon of inflationary insurance franchises of the co-ownership syndicates. It was reported to the Committee that in some cases, after a few accidents caused by water affecting the dwelling of the co-ownership, the insurance deductible of the syndicate was increased to a higher amount. There was a report of an increased insurance deductible of close to $ 100,000 for each case of water damage.

We remind you that under Section 1073 of the C.c.Q, the syndicate is required to obtain insurance for an amount equal to the replacement value covering the entire building, excluding improvements made to the privative portions.

uelled  by  the  popularity  of  condominium  apartments,  supply  in  this  market  segment  has increased significantly. As a result of three years of sustained construction from 2010 to 2012, market  conditions  in  this  market  have  eased  significantly.  Starts  of  multi-family  dwellings  will thus decrease considerably this year. Multiple starts will descend below the 25,000 level in 2013 and rise above the 26,000 mark in 2014.

In this article we will discuss recommendations for condominium insurance.

According to the report of the Advisory Committee on co-ownership, the latter has found, during the public hearings, a need for information and training to be disseminated to insurance brokers, directors and managers of syndicates in connection with condominium insurance and especially on the importance of a proper evaluation of the building to its new value and cover it with appropriate insurance as required by Section 1073 C.c.Q.

Also in this regard, the Committee noted that it is frequently common practice that the insurance underwritten by the syndicate is of an insurable value which is lower than the actual value of the property.

On February 14, 2013, a petition was submitted to the National Assembly of Quebec concerning guide dogs or service dogs.

Reading the text of the petition one requests from the Quebec National Assembly to pass a law that allows a person with a disability to be accompanied by his/her service dog not only in a public place, but also in one’s dwelling, whether this premise is a condominium or a rental unit. Following this event, your association has been invited to participate, last April 15, at a hearing on the petition and on the need to adopt a new law.

Next May the 12th, new regulations on the horizon for the maintenance of water cooling towers will come into force, which will significantly affect condominiums as well as apartment buildings equipped with such air conditioning systems.

Last January 16th, Mrs. Agnès Maltais, the Minister of Labour, among others, announced the publication in the Gazette officielle du Québec of a draft regulation amending the Safety Code under the Building Act, c. B-1.1, on the maintenance of water cooling towers used to air condition buildings. Proposing such a regulation was motivated by the occurrence of several deaths in the region of Quebec during the summer of 2012 due to an outbreak of the legionnaires' disease bacteria. The deceased had been exposed to these bacteria through ventilation and air conditioning systems of buildings.

In the previous issue, we discussed recommendations to simplify the representation of the co-owners who can not attend meetings in person, and thus allowing a quorum to be reached easier.

In this article we will discuss recommendations for the period in which the syndicate must submit the minutes of a meeting of co-owners, along with an extension of the time given to a co-owner to challenge a decision of the assembly.

According to the report of the Advisory Committee on co-ownership it was noticed by the latter during the public hearings that the distribution of the minutes to the co-owners is characterized by an uneven practice in co-ownerships in Quebec. Many co-owners simply do not receive the minutes or they often receive them a year later.

Jurisprudence, allows us to see the pages that can be found on Facebook are frequently used in courts and are generally accepted as evidence.

We must act with caution when publishing comments on others on Facebook. For some people discussing landlord-tenant relationships on Facebook can provide some satisfaction.

Care must be taken, however, the evolution of certain things allows us to believe that some adventures experienced and reported on Facebook could provide places for pursuits and defamation.

The delays to change a lease

1. Fixed lease of one (1) year or more:
The notice must be given within a period of three (3) to six (6) months.
Example: a one-year lease from 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2013. The notice of modification must be sent between 1 January 2013 and 31 March 2013.

In the previous issue we discussed the recommendations to make the task easier for the buyer of a fraction of co-ownership to obtain the information necessary for an informed purchase.

In this issue, we will discuss recommendations aimed at simplifying the representation of co-owners who can not attend the meetings in person, and thus allow that a quorum would be reached easier.

According to the report of the Advisory Committee on co-ownership, it was found during the public hearings that it is sometimes difficult for the syndicates of co-ownership to reach the quorum necessary for holding an assembly of the co-owners, which requires the presence in person or represented by power-of-attorney of a sufficient number of co-owners representing the majority of the votes (over 50%).

In 2013, moderate job growth, the continued easing of the resale market and the trend toward the multi-family dwelling will again reduce single starts and translate into a total of 15,000 single-detached homes started in 2013 and 14,600 in 2014. This market segment is still affected by the rising popularity of the more affordable multi-family homes and densification trends.

Fuelled by the popularity of condominium apartments, supply of multi-family  dwellings is currently strong. Following three years of sustained construction from 2010 to 2012, market conditions in this market are now easing. Starts of multi-family dwellings will settle back in the coming years. Multiple starts will move to 27,300 in 2013 and 27,600 in 2014.