Buying New or Reselling a Condo? Some consumer protection provisions to consider.

New Condo v. Resale Condo

A good starting point with this topic is to recognize that a purchaser does not have the same protection when buying a resale condominium as would be the case when purchasing a new one. The Condominium Act, 1998 c. 19 contains a number of "consumer protection" provisions for purchasers of new condominiums namely: 

Section 72(2) provides that the Agreement is not binding until the Disclosure Statement is delivers.

Section 72(3) and 72(4) sets out a list of all the materials which must be disclosed including a projected budget for the first year of operation. Draft Declaration, By Laws and rules are to be included in the materials. If a vendor "low balls" the expected condominium fees there is an obligation to cover the difference and in Section 75 there is a requirement to provide a revised Disclosure Statement where there has been a "material change". The cost of interim occupancy, while a purchaser awaits registration and formal closing, is also regulated by the Act pursuant to Section 80. So, while there are significant protections to clients in the legislation it certainly does not mean the clients and their lawyers, where appropriate, should not read the documentation and review any concerns. It is also often the case that the condominium corporation is created prior to closing in which case a Status Certificate should be obtained which, hopefully, will mirror the material in the Disclosure Statement and contain no surprises!

Section 73 provides that a purchaser can rescind the Agreement within 10 days of the date of the Agreement of Purchase is executed or when the Disclosure STatement is received whichever is the later.