Transactions involving real estate are commonplace. Real estate is leased, bought, and sold, offered as collateral, or the primary asset of a business venture between individuals. Our lawyers are particularly skilled and experienced in dealing with disputes involving property.
If you purchase a property, and the vendor refuses or is unable to close, what are your options? If you are a vendor and the purchaser is not able to close, what rights do you have?
Do you have any recourse if a friend or family member borrows money from you to purchase property and then refuses to pay you back? If you let a family member or friend hold title for you to a property, and they refuse to transfer title, what can you do?
If owners of a business are no longer able to work together, what rights and interests do they have with respect to the commercial property held by the business?
What mechanism is available to you to prevent a neighbour from encroaching on your land? What options do you have if you purchase property only to discover that part of the property belongs to a neighbour?
If snow, ice, or water escapes from your neighbour’s property, can you obtain a court order requiring them to install snow guards or improve their drainage system?
Can you sue a vendor for selling you a home containing defects that were not disclosed at the time of purchase?
There are many scenarios where a dispute may arise involving real estate. Each case is different and fact-dependent, and can trigger different legislation. Knowledge of the legal principals is important, but knowledge is not the only thing that matters. In time sensitive scenarios with an imminent sale or closing, for example, an understanding of the procedural mechanisms available to litigants is equally important, along with exercising common-sense about the client’s end-goal. Our lawyers are experienced in providing sound advice that balances the risks of litigating against the practicalities that are important to clients. Its not just about legal arguments.
Here is a small sampling of cases that we have assisted clients with:
- Certificates of pending litigation to preserve a client’s interest in a property, preventing its sale.
- Urgent injunctions preventing the distribution of net sale proceeds following a sale.
- Lawsuits involving claims for adverse possession.
- Claims for specific performance on behalf of buyers on the basis that the property purchased is sufficiently unique.
- Business disputes between shareholders of a company where the primary asset involves holding or leasing out real property.
- Lawsuits involving latent defects.
- Claims on behalf of vendors against buyers who were not ready, willing, or able to close.
- Mortgage enforcement, including power of sale.
- Breaches of commercial lease agreements.
- Landlord and Tenant Board applications.
We look forward to assisting you.
To discuss your situation, contact Perlin Bal Figol LLP in Toronto at 647.983.3309 or contact us here.