Several changes under the Condominium Act, 1998 (Condo Act) are coming into force on January 1, 2022. Changes to section 117 will prohibit conditions or activities in a unit or common element, which are likely to damage property or cause injury or illness to an individual.

Amendments will also prohibit any unreasonable noise that is a nuisance, annoyance or disruption, or other nuisances, annoyances or disruptions as prescribed in regulation.

Prescribed nuisances include: odour; smoke; vapour; light; and vibration.

According to condo lawyer Rod Escayola of Gowling WLG, the province had originally contemplated a sixth prohibited nuisance: Infestation by animal, virus, fungus, bacterium or other organisms. “This additional prohibited nuisance was included in the consultation process, which took place in December 2019 but did not make the cut. I wonder why,” he wrote in his blog last week. “Certain infestations (think of bedbugs, cockroaches and mould) can be quite problematic for condos and neighbours.”

Amendments to O. Reg. 179/17, will also expand the CAT’s jurisdiction to manage certain disputes related to nuisances or disputes over governing documents regulating nuisance.