The current consensus of most Canadian jurisdictions is that while condominiums may place restrictions on the rental of units, such as a minimum lease term, any attempt to completely restrict or place caps on the amount of units that can be rented will not be enforceable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A recent Quebec case, Mosca v Tours du Chateau<\/em>, warns that this consensus may not hold true. It is important, however, to remember that Quebec follows the Civil Code of Quebec<\/em> (the \u201cCivil Code\u201d), as opposed to the common law that applies in the rest in Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Mosca<\/em>, the condominium corporation passed a by-law that restricted the total number of units that could be leased in the entire building to 10% or less. At the time that the by-law was passed, 18% of the units were leased but the by-law grandfathered existing rentals until such time as the 10% threshold was met.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The plaintiffs in Mosca<\/em> challenged the new by-law on three grounds:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The court rejected all three of the plaintiffs\u2019 arguments and found that the by-law was enforceable. First, the court found that the new by-law did not change the character of the condominium, but rather modified the way in which owners could exercise their property rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Section 6 of the Quebec Charter enshrines the right of the peaceful enjoyment of one\u2019s own property and the respect for private property. The court found that when people decide to live in a community, collective rights take precedence over individual rights and that the by-law did not violate Section 6 of the Quebec Charter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n