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Thursday April 6 2023

A co-owner sentenced to nearly $100,000 for illegally renting their condo on a short-term rental platform

A recent judgment has just been rendered by the Superior Court regarding rental of a condo in Co-ownership, on websites dedicated to short-term rental, when the Declaration of Co-ownership prohibited it.

Recent events have brought this topic to the forefront in the last weeks and is definitely a major issue in Co-ownership.

After 8 years of real “battle”, the Syndicate of Co-ownership of a building located in Griffintown, managed by SolutionCondo, has finally won its case.

The Co-owner, who was renting their condo illegally, has just been sentenced to pay penalties to the Syndicate as well as fees incurred.

The Co-ownership building comprises nearly 200 units and is located in the Griffintown area, in Montreal. Short term rental is prohibited.

According to the provisions of the deed of sale, by signing the deed to their condo unit, the co-owner had undertaken the comply with the provisions of the Initial Declaration of Co-ownership, as well of the one of the immovables and the regulations derived therefrom, of which they had declared were aware of.

However, 17 notices of infractions were prepared and sent to this Co-owner. Despite the formal notices sent to them by the Syndicate to immediately cease her short-term rental activities, the Co-owner continued, using various stratagems, including a pseudonym, and an elaborated system to rent their condo.

The perseverance of the Syndicate, the members of the Board of Directors, the Manager, the multiple reminders that they had to make on several occasions and the ultimatums addressed to the Co-owner will have finally paid off.

The mobilization of all these parties and their collaborators will also have been precious and decisive in this file to document and detail each notice of infractions.

The Co-owner did not respond to any of the 17 notices of infractions issued by the Syndicate.

FINALLY, SUPERIOR COURT RENDERED ITS JUDGMENT ON MARCH 27, 2023.

It sentenced the Co-owner to pay to the Syndicate, as a penalty, the sum of $49,000, with interests at the legal rate, plus the additional indemnity pursuant to article 1619 of the Civil Code of Quebec, calculated from the date of service of the Motion to institute proceedings; and the reimbursement of extrajudicial fees, the sum of $34,387.

This judgment is great news for all Co-ownerships management professionals, who are working hard to try and find ways to counteract short-term rentals when they are prohibited in Co-ownerships, which is the case in most residential buildings.

» Consult the judgment (available in French)

» Listen to the interview of Robert Barrette, Managing Director at SolutionCondo, with Paul Arcand on 98.5 FM, in the show ”Puisqu’il faut se lever” (in French).

» Read Zacharie Goudreault’s article in Le Devoir La lutte en justice d’un syndicat de copropriété contre des locations à court terme illégales (in French)