Burke v. Blue Nile Homes Ltd.

Burke v. Blue Nile Homes Ltd.

Adjudicator found on the balance of probabilities that an oral agreement existed entitling Tenants to a four-month rent abatement for Mr. Burke's services; however, the Landlord's Residential Tenancies claim was initiated while the corporation's registration was lapsed, and under CRA s.17(1) that procedural defect could not be cured by later reinstatement, so the original Residential Tenancies award to the Landlord should not have been granted; on de novo appeal the adjudicator applied the four-month abatement to June–September 2017, disallowed the filing fee, retained the security deposit for separate determination, and ordered the tenancy to terminate on December 31, 2017 with specified...

Citation
2017 NSSM 60
Parties
Tenant (appellant): Jody Burke; Tenant (appellant): Jennifer Guitard; Landlord (respondent): Blue Nile Homes Ltd.
Court
Nova Scotia Small Claims Court
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
14 November 2017
Procedural Posture
Small Claims Court / Appeal From Director of Residential Tenancies (de Novo Hearing)
Outcome
Appeal allowed in part; finding of four-month rent abatement for Tenants upheld; Residential Tenancies award to Landlord set aside insofar as it was procured while corporation was unregistered; filing fee disallowed; termination date adjusted to December 31, 2017.
Legal Topics
Rent Abatement, Termination of Tenancy, Oral Contract for Services, Corporate Registration (cra S.17), Jurisdiction of Administrative Tribunals
Source Language
English
Residential Tenancies Contract Law Corporate Law Property Law Rent Abatement Termination of Tenancy Oral Contract for Services Corporate Registration (cra S.17) +1 more

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Parties

Jody Burke

Tenant (appellant)

Jennifer Guitard

Tenant (appellant)

Blue Nile Homes Ltd.

Landlord (respondent)

Procedural Posture

Small Claims Court / Appeal From Director of Residential Tenancies (de Novo Hearing)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether an oral agreement existed entitling Tenant to four months' rent abatement for services provided to Landlord's construction project
  2. 2 Whether alleged defects in the rental property entitled Tenants to additional rent abatement
  3. 3 Whether s.17(1) of the Corporations Registration Act barred an unregistered corporation from bringing or maintaining the Residential Tenancies proceeding and whether reinstatement after commencement cures the defect

Ratio Decidendi

Adjudicator found on the balance of probabilities that an oral agreement existed entitling Tenants to a four-month rent abatement for Mr. Burke's services; however, the Landlord's Residential Tenancies claim was initiated while the corporation's registration was lapsed, and under CRA s.17(1) that procedural defect could not be cured by later reinstatement, so the original Residential Tenancies award to the Landlord should not have been granted; on de novo appeal the adjudicator applied the four-month abatement to June–September 2017, disallowed the filing fee, retained the security deposit for separate determination, and ordered the tenancy to terminate on December 31, 2017 with specified...

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed in part; finding of four-month rent abatement for Tenants upheld; Residential Tenancies award to Landlord set aside insofar as it was procured while corporation was unregistered; filing fee disallowed; termination date adjusted to December 31, 2017.

Orders

  • Four-month rent abatement granted to Tenants, applied to June, July, August and September 2017 (abatement amount: $6,600.00)
  • Original Residential Tenancies award to the Landlord set aside to the extent it was commenced while Blue Nile Homes Ltd. was unregistered