How Does a Condominium Building Enforce Its No-Smoking Restrictions?

How Does a Condominium Building Enforce Its No-Smoking Restrictions?

A Toronto Condo building or a Mississauga Condo building that has successfully adopted a no-smoking restriction in individual units needs to be able to enforce this policy.

If there are no complaints does Condo Corporation have to enforce no-smoking Policy?

If no one is complaining of exposure to second hand smoke, does the Condo corporation need or have to enforce its no-smoking policy?

Yes, a Toronto Condo or Mississauga Condo has a duty to enforce the condo declaration, by-laws and rules regardless of a lack of complaints from owners.

They cannot however treat smoking as a nuisance under any nuisance rule in the absence of any owner complaints and use that rule to enforce the no-smoking policy.

How does a Condo Corporation Enforce a No-Smoking Policy?

The Ontario Condominium act 1998 states that every declaration shall be deemed to contain a provision that the corporation and the owners agree to submit any disagreement with respect to the declaration, by-laws or rules to mediation and arbitration.

The mediator will attempt to settle the matter between the parties but failure to do so will result in the disagreement being sent to binding arbitration under the Arbitration Act 1991.

Any decision reached by the arbitrator and not complied with by the parties can be enforced by the courts.

If the mediation and arbitration process fails, an owner or a corporation may apply to the Superior Court of Justice for an order to enforce any provision of the declaration, by-laws, rules or the Condominium Act.

Can an Owner be Forced to Sell for Non-Compliance?

Could a unit owner be forced to sell their unit for not complying with a no-smoking restriction in individual units?

Yes, precedents do exist in Ontario law that requires a unit owner to sell their unit for non- compliance of a court order or ignoring condo rules.

John Lavin is a full time realtor with 25 years experience helping buyers and sellers of homes, condominiums and investment properties in Mississauga and Toronto. If you are looking for Toronto Condominium Listings or Mississauga Condos for Sale why not put my 25 years of experience to work for you.