I guess the lack of a single standard definition for the term 'completion' is part of the problem. Buildings may meet agreed criteria to be 'substantially complete' from a contract perspective, triggering payment obligations between the parties - yet still have material amounts of work tob e done. In a condominium building, items such as amenity areas, final finishes in lobbies and corridors, missing items in units, and so on will not stop a building from receiving occupancy permits or being occupied. I was using the word 'complete' in a general sense - the City does not decide when a builder has met all the requirements to have a fully completed, no items remaining status for the building, and does not take that into consideration for registration. The focus for the City would be on approvals and completion of requirements over which it has authority - site plan approval, meeting conditions stipulated in the various permits and permissions issued and granted by the City.

The condominium corporation is created when the City files the necessary registration documents on the Ontario Land Registry system , which causes the individual physical condominium units in the building to become separately titled entities within the land registry system, with the ability of the titles to be transferred to the new owners on closing. Absolutely nothing to do with completion of the common areas - the amenities, finishes in the lobbies and corridors and so on. The title is for the unit, and as a condominium, includes its proportionate share in the condominium corporation's assets (and obligations), including its common elements and amenities.

Toronto has registered thousands of condominium corporations over the years - obviously, they have defined procedures, internal checklists, of what must be in place for the entry to be set up in the land registry system. It is up to the developer to prepare, submit, and revise where necessary, all the documentation required by the City. Does the City have an openly published list of what these requirements are - that I do not know. If there is a list, it may be either within the City's legal procedures and regulations - possibly in several places, or it is in internal development industry papers.

I think the bigger issue is that neither party - the developer or the City - can predict or control how long the other party will take to complete all its outstanding issues and requirements for the registration to proceed. Without that knowledge, neither party is willing to make any commitments in advance on when the registration will take place - hence leading to the situation in which purchasers are left hanging.

As to why some properties register more quickly than others - developer experience would be a major factor. Also, a greenfield project would be a lot more straight forward than one in which the developer had to go through hoops to get approval in the first place. Incorporation of pre-existing structures - whether historic buildings in part, or conversions of office buildings or churches, or other commitments to the City for approval to build (e.g. replacement of former rental units on the site).

The above was written without thinking about which building you are in - just looked at the thread title - the Waterworks building. Oh my. This site has amongst the most potential complicating factors for approval around. Be thankful that it is a Mod project - Mod has experience handling complex sites. In the hands of a developer without such experience, it could be a much different situation.

"Without that knowledge, neither party is willing to make any commitments in advance on when the registration will take place"

Just to be clear, this is precisely the weird problem in this case. I have received now two notices of impending registration that have come to naught and for obvious reasons. One should expect a much more conservative approach. I can well imagine a plethora of covenants between the builder and the city in this particular case. In my view there is a significant difference between major parts of the façade and terrace/balcony partitions being incomplete and more minor things like carpeting not installed. The former I would think the city would look dimly upon, the latter is a matter between the condo corp and the builder and not involve the city. Review alone should take some considerable time. I for one would prefer a long interim occupancy as I think it favours the purchaser. I think others in this forum disagree. I have a very high opinion of MOD but if their notifications about impending registration turn out to be pie in the sky their credibility will diminish in my view.
 
"Without that knowledge, neither party is willing to make any commitments in advance on when the registration will take place"

Just to be clear, this is precisely the weird problem in this case. I have received now two notices of impending registration that have come to naught and for obvious reasons. One should expect a much more conservative approach. I can well imagine a plethora of covenants between the builder and the city in this particular case. In my view there is a significant difference between major parts of the façade and terrace/balcony partitions being incomplete and more minor things like carpeting not installed. The former I would think the city would look dimly upon, the latter is a matter between the condo corp and the builder and not involve the city. Review alone should take some considerable time. I for one would prefer a long interim occupancy as I think it favours the purchaser. I think others in this forum disagree. I have a very high opinion of MOD but if their notifications about impending registration turn out to be pie in the sky their credibility will diminish in my view.
Well, I have to eat humble pie. Registration just came through.
 
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So… as an FYI… I own a unit on the 4th floor and my final closing is at the beginning of November.
 
So maintenance... It looks like we will be paying 40% more than what was stated on our purchase and sale. I still think there were big problems with the quick registration. I think the initial accounts of the condo corp must be looked over with a fine tooth comb. My fear is that in short order it will be more than double what was initially quoted.
 
So maintenance... It looks like we will be paying 40% more than what was stated on our purchase and sale. I still think there were big problems with the quick registration. I think the initial accounts of the condo corp must be looked over with a fine tooth comb. My fear is that in short order it will be more than double what was initially quoted.
woah! Thanks for sharing... Do you have any dollar ($) amount range?
 
So maintenance... It looks like we will be paying 40% more than what was stated on our purchase and sale. I still think there were big problems with the quick registration. I think the initial accounts of the condo corp must be looked over with a fine tooth comb. My fear is that in short order it will be more than double what was initially quoted.
Hi, what are you basing this on? Where did that 40% come from?
 
Hi, what are you basing this on? Where did that 40% come from?
Very straight forward. When I bought, maintenance was pegged at X and I just got notice that my actual maintenance is X*1.40
Kozak, do you have a unit? is yours not 40% more? Everyone should be 40% than what was quoted.
 
Very straight forward. When I bought, maintenance was pegged at X and I just got notice that my actual maintenance is X*1.40
Kozak, do you have a unit? is yours not 40% more? Everyone should be 40% than what was quoted.
thanks for sharing. I sent you a private message.
 
Hi guys,
Just wondering if any of you have had an issue with your floors buckling due to the humidity in the building and what the builder has done about it. I had my floors buckle in between my living room and bedroom and the builder’s “solution” was to put an ugly transition strip on the entrance to the bedroom to hold the boards down! It’s looks terrible and is obviously just a bandaid fix. I spoke to them and they said if they remove it, it’ll void my warranty. I will be fighting them on this but wanted to know if there are others with the same issue.

Also wanna know if people are still having issues with excessive humidity in their units. That’s what caused the buckling floors in the first place. All week the temperature in my unit has been 78 degrees with the thermostat OFF.
 
Hi guys,
Just wondering if any of you have had an issue with your floors buckling due to the humidity in the building and what the builder has done about it. I had my floors buckle in between my living room and bedroom and the builder’s “solution” was to put an ugly transition strip on the entrance to the bedroom to hold the boards down! It’s looks terrible and is obviously just a bandaid fix. I spoke to them and they said if they remove it, it’ll void my warranty. I will be fighting them on this but wanted to know if there are others with the same issue.

Ah yes, floors! Builder never wants to change anything so they will provide bare minimum solution which is the transition strip. Buckling is usually due to moisture so either there's too much humidity in your unit (which is weird because I find Toronto air dry) or the moisture came from somewhere else. Do you wash your floors? What is the humidity reading in your condo?

They are going to blame you for it and say your you did not keep your unit at the right temperature (not overall temperature but humidity). I find builders do not like to deal with flooring issue so best of luck but be prepared for a battle if this builder is like any other builder.
 
Ah yes, floors! Builder never wants to change anything so they will provide bare minimum solution which is the transition strip. Buckling is usually due to moisture so either there's too much humidity in your unit (which is weird because I find Toronto air dry) or the moisture came from somewhere else. Do you wash your floors? What is the humidity reading in your condo?

They are going to blame you for it and say your you did not keep your unit at the right temperature (not overall temperature but humidity). I find builders do not like to deal with flooring issue so best of luck but be prepared for a battle if this builder is like any other builder.
They actually knew that there was a humidity problem in the building and knew it was their fault. They were coming in twice a day in the summer and doing humidity checks. Then they put this crazy dehumidifier in my unit and the floors flattened out a bit. Then they came in while I was away and put that strip on and said it’s fixed! My unit is still boiling hot even with the thermostat OFF so I’m not sure how that’s a solution!
 
They actually knew that there was a humidity problem in the building and knew it was their fault. They were coming in twice a day in the summer and doing humidity checks. Then they put this crazy dehumidifier in my unit and the floors flattened out a bit. Then they came in while I was away and put that strip on and said it’s fixed! My unit is still boiling hot even with the thermostat OFF so I’m not sure how that’s a solution!

OK! Good to know this. So they admitted the humidity issue is from them. But rectified the damage to your unit by adding the strip. Hmm. While not ideal, they did provide a solution. They may be covered there. But I'd keep pressing them on this and get your lawyer involved. Would also contact Tarion. This could potentially be an ongoing problem if humidity is an issue in the building and that would be a huge problem for the builder. Don't let it go....but it is hard to get builders to own up to their shit and have them fix it properly instead of looking for the cheapest solution.
 
My floors have been a disaster since day 1. I have it as a deficiency in my PDI and my 30 day. I have sent countless emails complaining. I spent a lot of money on upgraded hardwood floors that have buckled in many places. I have had a humidifier running constantly. The long and short of it is that the floors are suppose to be able to deal with a relative humidity of 65%. My floors have buckled consistently at 45%. What they are counting on is waiting until winter when the air will be very dry. The problem will be less visible.
 

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