Tag: builders

Real Estate law: Can You Refuse to Close if Your Condominium Square Footage is Less Than You Bargained For?

In real estate law, representations are very important elements to any agreement of purchase and sale.  Typically the party selling the property will represent things such as the size of the land, the size of the dwelling, that the chattels and fixtures included in the purchase price are free and clear of encumbrances and in working order, etc.  In law, a representation is defined as a statement of past or present fact without the statement necessarily also being a promise, although the law has recognized that a representation can be both a promise and a representation.  While the topic of representations in contracts is extremely comprehensive, 756289 Ontario Limited et al. v. Milan Harminc, (1998) CarswellOnt 1577, 98 G.T.C. 6206 (“Harminc”) is one example of where a representation affected a real estate transactions with respect to the representation of square footage.Harminc is a case wherein a buyer purchased a commercial condominium property from a builder.  The buyer refused to close and the builder sued the buyer for breach of contract and sought damages.  While the defendant buyer advanced a number of arguments for his defence, the case turned on whether the builder misrepresented to the buyer the square footage of the property and if so, whether that misrepresentation was material enough to entitle the buyer to rescind the contract and refuse to close.