Patrick Harrington

The applicant appealed an order to comply issued by a city building inspector requiring a building permit for interior renovations completed before the applicant purchased the property.

The court held that current owners are responsible for prior unpermitted construction and that the city's inspection was conducted with valid consent.

However, the court rescinded the order, finding that the minor interior renovations (adding non-load-bearing walls and basement laundry plumbing) did not constitute 'material alterations' requiring a building permit under the Building Code Act.

The applicant sought a declaration that four of his properties, rented to groups of university students, were not being used as 'Lodging House Type 1' under the municipality's zoning by-law.

The municipality argued that because the properties were rented to five or more individuals sharing kitchen and bathroom facilities, they constituted lodging houses.

The court found that the properties functioned as single housekeeping units rented to cohesive groups under single leases, rather than individual lodging units.

The court granted the declaration and further ordered the municipality to remove unsubstantiated references to the properties as 'Possible Lodging Houses' from its public website, criticizing the municipality's use of the website to pressure landowners.