Canadian Lawyer

REAL ESTATE Condo end-of-life decisions A B.C. case is shining the spotlight on the overlooked question of what to do when a development reaches the point where repairs are expensive and the market value of each unit is falling. BY KEVIN MARRON M on the web site of North Vancouver's agnificent magnolia trees in full bloom stand in the fore- ground of most of the photos posted Cypress Gardens housing complex. But the bloom has faded on the 60-year-old buildings behind them. In fact, many residents and co-owners of the 177-unit common-law condominium development believe the aging townhouses and apart- ment buildings are in such bad shape that it is not worth spending the millions of dollars required to repair them and it would make much more sense to sell the whole complex to a developer offering $60 million for the desirable location. They say their shares in the condominium corpora- tion would be worth far more, if the entire property were to be sold, than they could hope to make by selling their individual units. Other residents, on the other hand, are satisfied with their present accommo- dation, don't want to move, can't afford to or would have difficulty doing so because of age, disability or other personal reasons. A fiercely fought dispute between looked when Cypress Gardens was con- verted from a rental property into con- dominiums in 1993, according to Julien these two factions resulted in a recent court battle that focused attention on the often-overlooked question of what to do when a condo development reaches the end of its useful life — when repairs are too expensive and the market value of each unit is falling through the floor, yet the condo corporation members cannot agree to sell the property for redevelop- ment. The need for an exit strategy was over- Dawson, a partner with Lunny Atmore LLP in Vancouver. Dawson represented some of the respondents in the case of Mowat v. Dudas, an application before Justice William Ehrcke of the Supreme Court of British Columbia under British Columbia's Partition of Property Act. The application was brought by Christopher Mowat and other co-owners of the condo property, who were seeking a court order to force the sale of the building, in spite of the objections of Jozsef Dudas and the residents who wanted to remain in their homes. It was Cypress Gardens has an ownership structure that resembles a condomini- um, but is not actually a condominium or strata corporation as recognized and regulated under B.C.'s Strata Property Act. Retired solicitor Ronald Wilson an unusual case because www.CANAD I AN Lawyermag.com SEPTEMBE R 2012 25 Juan carlos solon

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