The appellant, owner of a mixed-use building, appealed an Ontario Municipal Board decision upholding the assessment of its residential units as an income-producing multi-residential rental property.
The residential units were subject to a 999-year lease arrangement where 'co-owners' held an undivided percentage interest in the lease and a right to occupy specific units.
The Divisional Court allowed the appeal, finding that the Board erred in law by strictly applying property law distinctions between leasehold and fee simple interests.
The Court held that under the Assessment Act, the leasehold interests were sufficiently similar to fee-based co-ownerships (like condominiums) to warrant similar assessment treatment.
