Canada: Forcing A Challenging Condominium Owner To Sell Their Unit Is No Easy Feat – Manage Your Expectations!

Condo living is communal living, which can present challenges when a resident simply cannot conduct themselves in a manner that does not disturb or threaten others. Condo corporations, boards, managers and other residents often find it difficult to deal with such disruptive individuals.

In the most egregious cases the question arises, can we make an owner sell their unit? Courts have described an order making an owner to sell their unit as requiring a "perfect storm" of factors justifying such an order, where the conduct was serious and persistent, where it had an exceptionally large impact on the community, and where the owner was incorrigible and unmanageable.

The recent case of Toronto Standard Condominium Corp. No. 2581 v. Paterno illustrates the high threshold that must be met to obtain an order that an owner must sell their unit.

In Paterno, the respondent unit owner had a substance abuse issue and conducted himself in a manner described by the court as "aggressive, rude, profane, and disrespectful." Mr. Paterno engaged in a number of offensive behaviours, including:

• Abusing and threatening property management and security staff;
• Allowing his large dogs to run free and soil the common elements;
• Sending sexually explicit messages to female staff members;
• Exposing himself on several occasions;
• Refusing to abide by COVID-19 protocols, for instance by breaking into the pool;
• Accosting other residents and destroying their property; and.
• Physically attacking security staff.

These incidents occurred over several years, from 2021 right up to June, 2023. Several of these incidents resulted in criminal convictions against Mr. Paterno. The court easily found that Mr. Paterno violated Section 117(1) of Ontario's Condominium Act, 1998. The court also found that while under the influence of intoxicants Mr. Paterno was unsuited for communal living and that:

However, the court held that an order to vacate and sell would be too harsh. The court found that Mr. Paterno should be given an opportunity to rehabilitate himself, as he expressed remorse during the court proceedings (despite having engaged in dangerous behaviour a little more than a month before the hearing), and to prove that he could be a responsible member of the condominium community.

In the end the court did grant what it described as a "conditional zero-tolerance eviction order." If Mr. Paterno were to breach any one of five conditions, the condo corporation could bring a motion to have Mr. Paterno immediately evicted from the property and required to sell his unit within 120 days.

This decision illustrates that courts continue to view ordering an owner to sell their unit as a "draconian" remedy and courts are extremely reluctant to grant this type of relief. In most cases, a history of bad conduct and refusal to abide by restrictions, and even court orders, will have to be established before a court will consider ordering the sale of a unit.

Dealing with a difficult, even dangerous, owner is a long and arduous process and it is important to manage the expectation of the relief that can reasonably be expected to be ordered.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.