Real Estate Law Blog

Given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, a large number of businesses are seeking some form of rent relief from their landlords.

When negotiating a rent relief agreement, there is a balance to be struck between providing meaningful relief to a tenant so that its business has a better chance of long term survival, while still allowing the landlord to meet its ongoing ...

On April 15, 2020, the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General issued a Ministerial Order which permits all strata corporations to hold electronic annual and general meetings (i.e via Skype, Zoom, etc.), even if the strata corporation has no specific bylaw passed enabling it to be held this way. This order helps address the controversy over the use of these methods ...

Developers of residential real estate projects in B.C. have been faced with a number of legal and practical challenges as they attempt to navigate the repercussions of the current COVID-19 public health emergency. Among other things, developers have been required to find new and safe ways to operate their construction sites, administer rental buildings, complete home ...

Prime Minister Trudeau announced today that the Canadian government is working with the provinces and territories to develop a national program to provide support to help small businesses with their rent for the months of April, May and June. Mr. Trudeau and his provincial and territorial counterparts will hold a telephone meeting on Thursday evening to further discuss ...

Further to our previous blog post, BC Housing has released details regarding eligibility and has launched the application process of the recently created BC Temporary Rental Supplement Program.

The program will provide a temporary rental supplement for April, May and June, 2020 and will be paid directly to landlords. The program gives $300 per month for eligible ...

Even during these unprecedented times, a strata corporation’s obligations continue. Strata councils face both the challenge of how to continue with their usual vital business, such as:

• holding annual general meetings (AGMs) or special general meetings (SGMs) to approve special levies for critical repairs and rising insurance costs
• making 2-5-10 warranty claims

The Province has announced that as part of its package of relief for businesses it will reduce school tax rates for commercial properties (Classes 4 – Major Industry, 5 – Light Industry and 6 – Business & Other) by 50% for the 2020 tax year.

The Property Assessment Appeal Board has announced that in conjunction with the Provincial extension of limitation periods, the ...

On March 27, 2020, the Government of Alberta announced new measures to address residential tenancy issues arising during and as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Max Carroll and Jeffrey Hernaez of our Vancouver office wrote yesterday about similar measures put in place in British Columbia.

Pursuant to the Public Health Act (Alberta) and the Minister’s powers under the ...

On March 25, 2020, the Government of British Columbia announced a number of relief measures for residential tenants and landlords in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These measures are summarized in our blog post here.

On March 30, 2020, a Ministerial Order (the “Order”) pursuant to the province’s Emergency Program Act was made by the Minister of Emergency ...

As result of the closure of numerous businesses, rising unemployment and the general impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy, it is expected that a number of residential tenants will not be able to pay rent or will request some rent relief from landlords. In order to address this, on March 25, 2020, the Government of British Columbia outlined the following restrictions ...