Welcome To The New Toronto: Condo Heaven or Hell?

Perhaps no city in Canada has more condominium developments being erected at a faster rate than Toronto. Seeing a new condominium building open has become a common occurrence in our city. But with the opening of all these new buildings brings the possibility of injuries occurring on the premises. The question is, who is liable if someone seriously injures themselves while inside the building? The answer depends on where exactly the injury occurred. Let’s say you are visiting a family member or friend in his or her condo and you slip inside the bathroom because the owner left a wet towel on the floor.  In that case, the owner of the condo or if the condo is rented, the tenant would likely be liable. However, let’s say the injury occurs elsewhere in the building such as the elevator, hallway, stairway or gym. These areas, known as the common elements, fall under the purview of the condominium corporation and/or the property management corporation.

It should be noted that a condominium corporation can even be found liable where injuries occur inside the condo unit if they were supposed to perform maintenance on the unit that created a dangerous condition for the tenant or guest.

In cases involving elevator falls or other common element area injuries, the injured plaintiff will have to do a fair amount of heavy lifting. The injured party will have to establish a clear link between the corporation’s negligence and the injury suffered. The issue will usually be, what did the corporation or management fail to do that directly caused this injury? The Occupiers Liability Act[1] can be of assistance in these circumstances to persons on the premises. Likewise, the Condominium Act, section 26, classifies corporations as occupiers of the common element areas in a building[2]. Finally, the Technical Standards And Safety Act 2000[3] outlines the public safety duties for any entity that owns and/or operates complex machinery such as elevators.

The recent case of Lebko v. Toronto Standard Condominium Corp.[4] illustrates the challenges an injured party faces in cases involving elevators. Here the mislevelling of an elevator resulted in injuries to a woman’s wrist and a dislocated shoulder. However, the property management and condominium corporations were not found to be liable because they had a regular system in place for elevator maintenance. The judge found no unreasonable conduct or negligence on their part.

Situations in condominium buildings have arisen where people have been attacked by dogs while standing in the building’s common element area. It might surprise you to learn that not only can a dog owner be held liable for such an attack but Ontario case law has demonstrated that the condominium corporation and/or property management corporation can be found liable as well. Look no further than the case of Elbaum v. York[5] .

For condo building common area injuries, a claimant  will certainly have their work cut out for them in having to proving there was a breach in the duty of care owed to them by the condominium and property management corporations. It should be noted that parties such as property managers, condominium corporations or the maintenance companies that are retained to service the elevators tend to keep logs of how often elevators are serviced. Logs are also usually kept for other areas that are maintained such as hallways and gyms. It is documents like these that serve as a strong defence during litigation. The reverse is also true where there are no logs or records of service or inspection. In that case, the condominium or property management corporations could have difficulty in proving that it exercised reasonable care. The bottom line is that in order for an injured party to be successful, he or she will have to find a serious lapse in the duty of care provided by the property owners.  It is certainly possible to do this and with Singer Kwinter’s decades of experience, we are eager to help those who believe they have a compelling case!

[1] https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90o02

[2] https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/98c19#BK111

[3] https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/00t16

[4]https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/doc/2019/2019onsc1602/2019onsc1602.html?searchUrlHash=AAAAAQAYbGVia28gdiB0b3JvbnRvIHN0YW5kYXJkAAAAAAE&resultIndex=1

[5]https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onsc/doc/2014/2014onsc1182/2014onsc1182.html?searchUrlHash=AAAAAQAOZWxiYXVtIHYuIHlvcmsAAAAAAQ&resultIndex=1