Vaughan's Cosmos condo owners ponder next moves in battle with developer

Even with deposits paid back, owners frustrated over process

Yorkregion.com
April 17, 2018
Tim Kelly

More than 300 angry Vaughan Cosmos condo owners who were unhappy the three-tower, 1,100-unit, sold-out project they had paid deposits on was cancelled got together for a meeting Sunday to discuss what next steps they will take in their fight with Liberty Developments.

The owners, who put down deposits two years ago for the condos that were to be built near Jane Street and Hwy. 7, adjacent to the new Vaughan subway station, were told just over a week ago by Liberty that the project was cancelled. They were also assured they would be paid back their deposits in full. Some have said they have already received their deposit cheques.

But other owners have talked openly about suing Liberty over failure to go ahead with the project. Many owners have also signed a Change.org petition demanding changes to the way condominiums are pre-sold before construction.

Under the heading, “Change the condominium bylaws to support buyers and not sellers,” over 650 signatures had been collected so far on the petition as of Tuesday at 1 p.m.

The petition says: “There have been many condominium cancellations over the past year. The builders are taking advantage of the buyers without any remorse. There have been too many issues where builders cancel their projects because they see that they can make more money by raising their prices. This act has zero consequences on their part. The builders do not lose, the BUYERS lose. The buyers are then put back into a market (two years later in Cosmos Condos case) with prices that are DRASTICALLY HIGHER than when they came in. This is unjust. These buyers SHOULD receive the retail value of their property at the time of cancellation, not when it was first purchased.”

Meanwhile, the City of Vaughan is also making an effort to take action on behalf of condo owners.

Ward 1 Councillor Marilyn Iafrate said she heard from a number of angry owners who were disappointed when they got the news that the Cosmos condo project had been cancelled.

Iafrate said she was disappointed to hear the news and said something needs to be done to protect condo owners.

At a council meeting last Wednesday, Iafrate introduced a motion at council that called on the “Ontario Ministry of Government and Consumer Services to review the process by which pre-construction condominium projects are marketed and sold; and the ability of developers to terminate agreements of purchase and sale as a result of the cancellation of a condominium project.”

Her motion, which was passed by council, also calls on the province’s organization that guarantees new home warranties, Tarion, to look into the Cosmos condos matter and report back to Vaughan’s committee of the whole next month.

Iafrate said executives from Tarion had read the story about the Cosmos condos owners and wanted to meet with her later this week to discuss the issue.