Eric Laxton

Partner | Toronto

416.595.7901

Portrait of Eric Laxton

Overview

Eric Laxton brings creativity and a vibrant attitude to his real estate practice, with a focus on land development and condominium law. He has extensive experience in land acquisitions, financing and sales, as well as condominium development and governance. Eric provides responsive, practical and business-oriented advice on a wide array of real estate issues.

In his practice, Eric assists builders with all aspects of condominium development, from the initial purchase of land, to drafting the condominium documents, registering the condominium plan, completing the unit occupancy and final closings, and transferring control of the condominium to owners. He has unique experience with complex condominium projects as well as commercial and real estate transactions involving condominium corporations. His clients rely on his depth of thought to craft effective solutions and to achieve excellent results.

Eric has particular interest in social purpose real estate and sustainable investing in environmental and housing initiatives. He acts for builders, lenders and not-for-profit organizations focused on social impact.

Eric has written for several condominium publications, including CondoBusiness and CondoVoice magazines, and has been a speaker on condominium law issues at seminars provided by the Law Society of Ontario and the Ontario Bar Association. He sits on the executive committee for the real property section of the Ontario Bar Association, where he has led a committee on legislative and regulatory changes in new home construction and sales.

Outside of the office, Eric is an Officer in the Canadian Army (Reserve), holding the rank of Major and having served in senior command appointments with the Royal Canadian Artillery. He has also served as an Airborne Forward Observation Officer with the parachute company of the Queens Own Rifles of Canada.

Professional achievements & leadership

  • Executive Committee, Real Property Law, Ontario Bar Association
  • Recipient, Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal
  • Recipient, Canadian Forces’ Decoration

Notable matters

  • Co-counsel to declarant in the registration, unit sales and turnover of a 60-storey condominium tower
  • Co-counsel to declarant in the registration, unit sales and turnover of a 27-storey condominium tower, including affordable housing units
  • Real Estate counsel to major bank lender for $140MM credit facilities in connection with a farmland development
  • Lead counsel to purchaser in $82MM acquisition of development lands
  • Lead counsel to borrower for $23.25MM aggregate credit facilities in connection with a condominium development
  • Lead counsel to condominium corporation in $9MM sale of part of common elements to developer
  • Lead counsel to lender for financing of green energy equipment in new condominium development
  • Lead counsel to community housing client for restructuring of condominium shared facilities with commercial owner

Thought leadership

  • Speaker, "Real Estate Issues You Need to Know!", OBA CPD, May 19, 2021
  • Speaker, "Key Transactional Issues Regarding Condominiums", OBA CPD, April 13, 2021
  • Speaker, “Your Practical Refinancing Toolkit”, OBA CPD, December 5, 2017
  • Author, “The So-Called Fourth Level of Government”, CondoBusiness, October 2015
  • Speaker, “Practice Gems: Title and Off-Title Searching”, LSO CPD, January 21, 2015
  • Speaker, “Status Certificates: The Importance of Their Role and Lawyer Review”, OBA CPD, April 7, 2015
  • Author, “Defining Material Changes in New Condos”, CondoBusiness online, 2014
  • Author, “Communications in Condominiums”, Condovoice (CCI), Fall 2014
  • Author, “Board directors gone rogue”, CondoBusiness, August 2014

Community involvement

  • Past Director, The Toronto Artillery Foundation

Professional memberships

  • Ontario Bar Association
  • The Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD)
  • Royal Canadian Military Institute
  • Law Society of Ontario
  • Canadian Condominium Institute

Bar admissions & education

  • Ontario, 2011
  • J.D., University of British Columbia, 2010
  • Fordham University, School of Law, 2009
  • B.A., University of Ottawa, 2007
  • Canadian Army Command and Staff College, 2016