The CAT is Growing...
As you may know, Bill 159, Rebuilding Consumer Confidence Act, 2020, received royal assent on July 14, 2020. Ten statutes are affected by Bill 159, including the Condominium Act, 1998, the Condominium Management Services Act, 2015, and legislation related to the construction of condominiums. On August 25, 2020, a new regulation was made under the Condominium Act, 1998 (O.Reg. 465/20) to expand the jurisdiction of the Condominium Authority Tribunal (CAT).
On October 1, 2020, the CAT will start to hear disputes about people, pets and parking (as well as other disputes). The CAT's jurisdiction is described in O.Reg. 179/17. Effective October 1, 2020, the following will be added to the regulation:
Note: On October 1, 2020, the day subsections 18 (1) and 19 (2) of Schedule 1 to the Rebuilding Consumer Confidence Act, 2020 come into force, subsection 1 (1) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “and” at the end of clause (b), by adding “and” at the end of clause (c) and by adding the following clause: (See: O. Reg. 465/20, s. 1 (1))
(d) subject to subsection (3), a dispute with respect to any of the following provisions of the declaration, by-laws or rules of a corporation:
(i) Provisions that prohibit, restrict or otherwise govern pets or other animals in a unit, the common elements or the assets, if any, of the corporation.
(ii) Provisions that prohibit, restrict or otherwise govern an automobile, motorcycle, van, truck, trailer, bus, mobile home, farm tractor, bicycle, motor-assisted bicycle, motorized snow vehicle, motorboat, rowboat, canoe, kayak, punt, sailboat, raft, aircraft, device used to facilitate the transport of a person with a disability, or any other vehicle drawn, propelled or driven by any kind of power, including muscular power, in a unit, the common elements or the assets, if any, of the corporation.
(iii) Provisions that prohibit, restrict or otherwise govern the parking or storage of items in a unit, an asset, if any, of the corporation, or any part of a unit, an asset or the common elements, that is intended for parking or storage purposes.
(iv) Provisions that govern the indemnification or compensation of the corporation, an owner or a mortgagee regarding a dispute described in this clause.
In short, the CAT will hear disputes about the declaration, by-laws or rules that relate to: 1) pets; 2) parking and vehicles; 3) parking and storage areas; and 4) indemnification rights related to any of the other disputes within the jurisdiction of the CAT.
Of note, the regulation goes on to state that the CAT will not have jurisdiction for any of the areas described above if the dispute is also related to section 117 of the Act (dangerous condition or activity), section 98 (changes made to common elements by owners), or subsection 24.6(3) of O. Reg. 48/01 (electric vehicle charging stations).
It will be interesting to see how the condo industry reacts to the CAT's expanded jurisdiction.