New house on the block(chain)
Introduction Would you trade your home for a work of art? An art critic might consider it. But what if it wasn’t art you were trading your home for, but Bitcoin? Like artwork, Bitcoin’s value is largely dependent on the...
Client alert: British Columbia Land Owner Transparency Registry
Effective November 30, 2020, the British Columbia Land Owner Transparency Act (“LOTA”) came into force, bringing into existence the new British Columbia Land Owner Transparency Registry (“LOTR”). This is a publicly searchable registry containing names, citizenship and other information of...
Why REALTORS® should incorporate a Personal Real Estate Corporation (PREC) by December 31, 2020
REALTORS® now have the ability to utilize a PREC. Learn about the benefits, some questions you should ask yourself together with details and pricing for Miller Thomson’s services to REALTORS® in Setting up a Personal Real Estate Corporation. There are...
Cross-country COVID-19 check-up
History of Canadian Government COVID-19 Rent Relief On April 24, 2020, the Government of Canada introduced the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) program. The CECRA program, which was run through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), was set...
Deal making in the new normal
As Canada steels itself in the face of a second wave of COVID-19 and the economy continues to navigate the related downturn, the commercial real estate industry, like many others, finds itself faced with significant challenges and uncertainty. Indeed the...
Ontario REALTORS® can now use personal real estate corporations – Miller Thomson assists OREA in crafting regulatory scheme
Introduction On October 1, 2020, Regulation 536/20 under the Trust in Real Estate Services Act, 2020 (the “Regulation”) came into force, providing Ontario brokers and salespersons registered with the Real Estate Commission of Ontario (“Registrants”) the ability to incorporate a...
New community benefits charge framework in effect
The Province of Ontario has now introduced regulations which flesh out how the Community Benefits Charges regime, initially announced in 2019 by Bill 108, the More Homes, More Choice Act (“Bill 108”) and revised by Bill 197, the COVID-19 Economic...
COVID-19 in commercial leasing – the “Phantom Menace”?
As society begins to reopen in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, so too must businesses begin to readjust to the harsh realities of fulfilling their contractual obligations. However, the pandemic has given rise to much discussion as to the...
Are you interested in decreasing the expense side of the balance sheet?: Ontario assessment appeal deadline extended to May 29, 2020
The Ontario deadline to file assessment appeals under the Assessment Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. A.31. has been extended to May 29, 2020. You might be asking: Why should I care? That question is answered below. We all know that property...
Restrictive commercial use servitudes in Quebec: The door is shut
While we try to imagine what shopping centres will become after the Covid-19 pandemic ends (whenever that may be), the Quebec Court of Appeal has clearly indicated that attempts to control the commercial uses of same, by way of restrictions...
