Am I responsible for damages to other units if the problem started in my condo unit? - Toronto Star

Ruling a reminder to check your plumbing, know your condo corporation's insurance deductible — and never skip tenant insurance.

Among the lessons for condo owners? If the unit is rented, ensure tenants know where the shut-offs are and how to use them.

Bob Aaron is a Toronto real estate lawyer and a contributing columnist for the Star. He is also a member of the Home Construction Regulatory Authority Consumer Advisory Council. He can be reached at bob@aaron.ca

A broken toilet flapper, a clogged bowl and a defective shut-off valve turned into a very expensive lesson for two Mississauga condominium owners.

A 2024 decision of the Ontario Superior Court shows how quickly a routine plumbing problem can become a substantial charge against a condominium unit — even where the owners themselves were nowhere near the property when the damage occurred.

Siridewa Abeygunasekara and Nimala Perera own a condominium unit on Trailwood Drive in Mississauga. The unit was rented to a tenant and her daughter.

In the early morning of Jan. 20, 2022, the toilet in the unit overflowed. Water escaped into the unit below and spread to several adjacent suites and common elements.

When the building superintendent arrived, he discovered water throughout the unit and towels on the floor. The toilet was overflowing and the handle on the nearby shut-off valve was broken.

That meant the water could not simply be turned off at the toilet. The superintendent had to leave the suite, retrieve a special key and shut off the water supply to the entire unit.

He then examined the toilet and found that the flapper inside the tank was sitting open. He concluded that there was also a blockage in the toilet. With the flapper open, water kept running into the bowl. With the drain blocked, the water had nowhere to go except over the rim.

Two contractors were retained to repair the resulting damage. Their invoices totalled $42,233.47.

The owners’ luck ran out there. The condominium corporation’s insurance deductible was $50,000 — more than the entire loss.

The corporation’s bylaw provides that where damage is caused by an act or omission of an owner or tenant, the owner is responsible for the lesser of the cost of repairs or the corporation’s insurance deductible.

As a result, the corporation charged the entire bill to the unit owners. When they did not pay, the condominium registered a lien against the unit.

The owners went to court asking that the lien be declared invalid and discharged.

They argued that the superintendent was not a plumber or qualified expert and therefore lacked standing to give an opinion about what caused the flood.

Justice Moiz Rahman rejected that argument.

The superintendent was not able to give expert evidence in the formal sense, but his testimony was admissible opinion evidence grounded in his experience responding to some 500 floods.

The more important issue was whether the owners had to be negligent before they could be charged for the loss.

An earlier court decision held that Ontario’s Condominium Act does not require proof of owner negligence.

The relevant question is whether an owner’s or tenant’s act or omission caused the damage.

The practical effect of Justice Rahman’s ruling is significant: an owner cannot necessarily escape responsibility merely by proving that they exercised reasonable care.

First, something had blocked the toilet.

Second, the toilet shut-off valve had not been properly maintained. The evidence showed that its handle was broken, meaning the tenants could not shut off the water when the toilet began overflowing.

The court found that the owners were responsible for maintaining the toilet and its shut-off valve. Had the valve worked, the flow of water could likely have been stopped much earlier, limiting the damage.

The application to discharge the lien was dismissed. It was valid to secure the $42,000 in flood damages. The owners were also responsible for perhaps $15,000 in court costs, as well as their own legal bill.

The lesson for condominium owners is straightforward.

Check the plumbing fixtures inside your unit. Make sure the toilet and sink shut-off valves actually work. If the unit is rented, ensure tenants know where the shut-offs are and how to use them.

Check your condominium insurance policy, too. Confirm you have coverage for the building policy’s deductible as well as coverage for living expenses or lost rental income if the unit is uninhabitable during repairs.

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Deductible insurance protects the owners in the event of a loss caused by themselves, their guests, tenants or service workers.

And never rent without first obtaining a copy of the tenant’s own insurance policy.

A five-dollar plumbing component can fail in seconds. The resulting bill may be five figures — or more.

Opinion articles are based on the author’s interpretations and judgments of facts, data and events. More details

Bob Aaron is a Toronto real estate lawyer and a contributing columnist for the Star. He is also a member of the Home Construction Regulatory Authority Consumer Advisory Council. He can be reached at bob@aaron.ca