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Notice of Lien Must Be Accurate

In a recent decision, the Ontario Court of Appeal has made it very clear that a Notice of Lien must be accurate. Here’s my summary of the decision from Condo Cases Across Canada, which I author for publication by the Canadian Condominium Institute (CCI) National.

York Condominium Corporation No. 82 v. Bujold (Ontario Court of Appeal) April 3, 2013

Lien discharged because of insufficient notice of lien

The corporation registered a lien on September 25, 2007, covering arrears from June 1, 2007. The owner challenged the validity of the lien. The Court said that “the registration on September 25 meant that the liens that arose after June 25 were valid, namely, the liens relating to defaults on July 1, August 1, and September 1.” “Delayed registration does not invalidate all liens, just those that arose from defaults that occurred more than three months before the registration.”

The Court of Appeal accordingly said that the lien was “potentially valid” for any amounts owing after June 25, 2007. The Court said, however, that the corporation’s notice(s) of lien had to be accurate in that the notice(s) had to disclose the full amount secured by the lien to be registered. [Once registered, the lien secures all subsequent arrears. But the notice(s) must disclose the full amount secured by the lien as at the anticipated registration date.] In this case, the notice of lien was invalid. Therefore, for different reasons, the Court of Appeal upheld the lower Court’s order that the lien be discharged.