Airbnb rental is legal unless rules ban it
I have been renting my condo unit through Airbnb for more than a year. I have received an email from management stating that I am breaking the condo’s rules by “renting my unit by day/night.” A review of the corporation’s rules and declaration does not reveal any prohibitions on short-term rentals, although there is a requirement for providing a signed lease, which I didn’t do. Management is threatening legal action. Can they do that?
If the rules or declaration do not prohibit short-term rentals, you are entitled to rent your unit for whatever period you choose. The Condominium Act requires you to provide a signed copy of the lease within 30 days of entering into the lease and you should comply with that requirement, even if the 30 days have passed. The swimming pool shared by three condos has been out of commission since April. The owners have been advised that all three condo corporations must agree on the repair logistics and they have not finalized their agreement. What can the owners do?
There is obviously a shared facilities agreement among the three corporations requiring them to co-operate in, and share the cost of, shared facility repairs. The pool is almost certainly located in the common elements of one of the corporations. It is that corporation’s obligation under the Condominium Act to repair the common elements.
Pressure might be brought on that corporation to carry out its repair obligations, which may induce it to pursue the other corporations to finalize the plans and co-operate in carrying out the repairs.
Should that not occur, an owner of that corporation could commence a court action pursuant to section 134 of the Condominium Act for a compliance order requiring the corporation to carry out the repairs.
Alternatively, consideration could be given to a court action by an owner or by one of the corporations for an order requiring the three corporations to meet their obligations under the shared facilities agreement in regard to the repair of the shared facilities. Abuyer whose purchase was scheduled to close two weeks after our annual general meeting was nominated for, and elected to, the board at that meeting. Our bylaws provide that a person other than an owner or proxy may only attend an owners’ meeting at the invitation of the chairperson or with the consent of the meeting. Our bylaws also provide that a director must be a resident. Was he properly elected?
The election would have likely been valid even if the candidate had not been invited by the chairperson and was not present with the consent of the meeting, as he could be nominated and elected even if not present at the meeting. The requirement that he be a resident, however, is fatal to his election, as he would not be a resident for another two weeks, when his unit purchase was completed. The upper horizontal boundary in our units is the upper surface of the ceiling drywall. Is the corporation responsible for upgrading the attic insulation?
The ceiling drywall is part of each unit but anything above the drywall is a common element. The obligation to repair and maintain the attics, including necessary insulation upgrades, is the obligation of the corporation. Lawyer Gerry Hyman is a former president of the Canadian Condominium Institute and author of Condominium Handbook. Send questions to gerry@gerryhyman.com or fax to his attention at 416-925-8492.