Compliance Order Obtained Against Condominium Owners For Unruly Behaviour And Refusal To Wear Masks

• Published date: 18 May 2021
• Subject Matter: Real Estate and Construction, Compliance, Real Estate
• Law Firm: Gardiner Roberts LLP
• Author: Mr James R.G. Cook

Living in a condominium requires a balancing of interests between the residents and compliance with the rules and by-laws that govern the community. No owner can be permitted run amok or impose their designs unilaterally on the rest of the condominium community. Personal activities must take into account the impact upon other residents, as regulated by the condominium's rules.

In Carleton Condominium Corporation No. 32 v. Yakovlev, 2021 ONSC 3323 (CanLII), a condominium consisting of 177 residential units alleged that three unit owners had engaged in conduct that contravened the City of Ottawa's Temporary Mask By-law, which required the unit owners to wear a mask that covered their mouth, nose, and chin, when they were in an enclosed common area of the condominium. The condominium also alleged that the three owners had created excessive and unbearable noise at unreasonable hours, and engaged in aggressive and/or harassing behaviour towards others.

In April 2021, the Honourable Madam Justice Ryan Bell of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice heard an application for an urgent cease and desist order brought by the condominium against the three-unit owners.

In response to the application, the unit owners claimed that they had been harassed by their neighbours and the condominium's board of directors, and that they have been subjected to constant surveillance. They claimed to have been so ill-treated that they had decided to move out of the building.

The condominium filed evidence of multiple reports of excessive noise coming from the units in question, with the noise often occurring in the late evening and becoming progressively worse through the night that continued after 10:30 p.m. The types of excessive noise reported included "cultural music and dancing," and the sounds of children fighting, screaming, stomping, and jumping against the walls inside the unit. There were also complaints about renovation-related noises and sounds of power tools being used at times prohibited under the condominium's rules.

Despite follow up actions and communications, including letters from the condominium's lawyer and a warning notice from Ottawa by-law enforcement, the respondent owners' conduct and the excessive noise continued. As a result, Justice Ryan Bell found that the unit owners were in violation of the condominium's rules and section 119 of the Ontario Condominium Act, 1998 (the "Act"), which requires that unit owners comply with a condominium's declaration...