Gan Yeladim Day Care Centre v. Beth Emeth Bais Yehuda Synagogue, 2025 ONSC 3859, offers transactional lawyers important reminders about lease renewal provisions, the duty of good faith in contract performance, and the courts’ willingness to grant equitable relief in commercial tenancy disputes. The Facts Gan Yeladim Day Care Centre had operated in space leased from Beth Emeth Bais Yehuda Synagogue for over 45 years, beginning in 1980. The parties’ relationship was governed by a 1985 lease that had been extended multiple times in 1987, 2009, 2013, 2016, and 2020. The most recent extension, dated August 31, 2020, was set…

Basnandan v. Jones, 2025 ONSC 3438 As transactional real estate lawyers, we draft purchase agreements with the expectation that our clients will close successfully. But what happens when a deal falls apart? A recent Ontario Superior Court decision provides important reminders about anticipatory breach, deposit forfeiture, and the limited availability of equitable relief when buyers can’t secure financing. The Facts In Basnandan v. Jones, the parties entered into an agreement of purchase and sale for a commercial property in Nepean with a purchase price of $2,250,000. The buyers paid a $200,000 deposit (approximately 10% of the purchase price) but failed…

720443 Ontario Inc. v. 2682543 Ontario Inc., 2025 ONCA 432 The Ontario Court of Appeal’s recent decision in 720443 Ontario Inc. v. 2682543 Ontario Inc., 2025 ONCA 432, offers valuable lessons for transactional real estate lawyers drafting commercial leases. This case involved a restaurant tenant that never opened, a landlord left holding an empty space during the pandemic, and damages exceeding $1 million. While the appeal focused on litigation issues, the underlying problems stemmed from lease drafting choices that left critical terms open to interpretation. The Facts A landlord and tenant entered into a lease for restaurant premises that required…

Ayuba v. Erhunmwun, 2025 ONSC 3639 The Facts In Ayuba v. Erhunmwun, Justice Charney dealt with a situation that has become all too familiar in Ontario’s real estate market: what happens when a builder goes into receivership and leaves assignment purchasers holding the bag?  The nuanced decision distributed the losses in a common sense manner among the various parties involved. The defendant, Bello Erhunmwun, had entered into an agreement of purchase and sale with Stateview Homes for a new home in Barrie for $949,990. He later decided to assign this agreement and listed it with Hometon Inc. for $1,280,000. The…

2642948 Ontario Inc. v. Jonny’s Antiques Ltd., 2025 ONCA 892 Why This Matters to Transactional Lawyers As a transactional real estate lawyer, you’ve likely drafted countless mortgage agreements with standard remedies clauses. But have you ever considered what happens when your client actually needs to enforce those provisions? The Ontario Court of Appeal’s recent decision in 2642948 Ontario Inc. v. Jonny’s Antiques Ltd. provides important clarity on when mortgagees can take peaceable possession of property without court intervention, and why proper drafting and documentation matter. The Facts 264 Ontario held a mortgage on commercial property in Shakespeare, Ontario. After the…

Introduction In Baha v. Waterloo North Condominium Corporation No. 37, 2025 ONSC 7043, Justice Smith delivered a sobering reminder about the importance of properly handling accommodation requests in condominium settings. What began as a complaint about barking dogs mushroomed into five separate legal proceedings, over 4,000 pages of court records, and significant financial and emotional costs for all parties involved. While the decision addresses oppression claims under the Condominium Act, 1998, it offers valuable lessons for transactional real estate lawyers advising clients on condominium purchases, status certificate reviews, and understanding potential liabilities. The Facts: A Dispute That Spiraled Out of…

As transactional real estate lawyers, we draft Agreements of Purchase and Sale with the expectation that our clients will honor the terms we’ve negotiated. But what happens when a relationship sours, co-owners seek partition, and those carefully crafted schedules become litigation fodder? The Ontario Superior Court’s recent decision in Rizzo v. Daniel, 2025 ONSC 6286, offers important lessons about how purchase obligations can follow properties through partition sales, even over a vendor’s objections. The Facts Michelangelo Rizzo and Tara-Lee Daniel were common-law spouses who purchased a $3.1 million cottage property at Trent Lake in 2021 as 50/50 tenants-in-common. The purchase…

Dehkordi v. O’Dell, 2025 ONSC 6654 If you’ve ever wondered whether the way you strike out a clause in an Agreement of Purchase and Sale matters, a recent Ontario Superior Court decision provides a stark reminder: it absolutely does. In Dehkordi v. O’Dell, Justice Mathai awarded the vendors over $260,000 in damages after finding that financing and inspection conditions were completely removed from the agreement, despite the purchaser’s creative arguments to the contrary. The Facts In June 2022, during what the court described as a “hot” seller’s market, the purchaser’s agent prepared an offer on the vendors’ property for $1,600,000.…

Introduction In 863880 Ontario Limited v. Canadian Pacific Railway Company, 2025 ONCA 755, the Ontario Court of Appeal delivered an important reminder about limitation periods in environmental contamination cases. The key takeaway for transactional lawyers: actual knowledge that property is contaminated starts the limitation clock ticking, even if your client doesn’t yet know the full scope of the problem. Background The appellant purchased contaminated property from CP Rail’s predecessor in 1990. Between 1990 and 1991, the purchaser received four environmental reports confirming soil contamination, though the extent remained uncertain. The purchaser, a property developer, decided not to address the contamination…

In 2609413 Ontario Inc. v. Brant, 2025 ONCA 788, the Ontario Court of Appeal confirmed that the enforceability of a registered mortgage can be conditional on external events, even when the mortgage itself contains no such condition. This decision offers crucial lessons for transactional lawyers about the importance of examining the entire factual matrix surrounding security instruments. Background This dispute arose from a transaction involving both real property and a preliminary medical cannabis cultivation licence. When Robbie Allen Brant died suddenly in January 2018, his widow Amanda Brant inherited his property in Amherstburg and became sole signatory of a numbered…