Douglas C Harris
Email: harris@allard.ubc.ca
Institution/Organisation: The University of British Columbia, Peter A. Allard School of Law
Position: Professor and Nathan T. Nemetz Chair in Legal History
Authored/ Co-authored Research
Title: Owning and Dissolving Strata Property
Published: (2017) 50:4 UBC Law Review 935
Author/Co-authors: Douglas C Harris
Keywords: Home ownership, Law, Redevelopment / termination,
Summary:
Strata or condominium property creates multiple privately owned lots or units within an association of owners. Dissolving strata property involves winding-up the association and terminating the private interests. As a result, the non-consensual dissolution of strata property involves the taking of property from those owners who oppose dissolution. This article analyzes British Columbia’s move to facilitate non-consensual dissolution by lowering the required threshold in a dissolution vote from unanimous consent to 80 percent of owners.
Title: Anti-Social Behaviour, Expulsion from Condominium, and the Reconstruction of Ownership
Published: (2016) 54:1 Osgoode Hall Law Journal 53
Author/Co-authors: Douglas C Harris
Keywords: Dispute resolution / courts / tribunals, Home ownership, Law,
Summary:
Statutory condominium regimes facilitate massive increases in the density of owners. The courts are responding to this spatial reorganization of ownership by reconstructing what it means to be the owner of an interest in land. This article analyzes the ten cases over eight years (2008-2015) in which Canadian courts grant eviction and sale orders against owners within condominium for anti-social behaviour.
Title: Dissolving Condominium, Private Takings, and the Nature of Property
Published: Harris, D. C., & Gilewicz, N. (2015). Dissolving condominium, private takings, and the nature of property. Rethinking Expropriation Law II: Context, Criteria, and Consequences of Expropriation (The Hague, NL: Eleven, 2015), 263-297.
This paper has been peer reviewed
Author/Co-authors: Douglas C Harris, Nicole Gilewicz
Keywords: Comparative research, Dispute resolution / courts / tribunals, Law, Redevelopment / termination,
Summary:
Perhaps the single most important decision in the lifecycle of a condominium is the one to dissolve it. This paper gives an overview of various dissolution rules in various common-law jurisdictions with statutory condominium regimes, describes the rule in British Columbia before turning to several court cases revealing common issues. We develop the argument that the non-consensual dissolution of condominium is a form of private-to-private takings, in order to reveal that the choice between dissolution rules is also a choice between different conceptions of property.
Title: Condominium Government and the Right to Live in the City
Published: Harris, D. C. (2019). Condominium Government and the Right to Live in the City. Canadian Journal of Law & Society/La Revue Canadienne Droit et Société, 34(3), 371-392.
This paper has been peer reviewed
Author/Co-authors: Douglas C Harris
Keywords: Dispute resolution / courts / tribunals, Governance, Law,
Summary:
This article considers a conflict between residential-unit owners and a commercial-unit owner within a condominium development in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. Drawing from material produced in litigation, the article situates the dispute within its property and urban contexts to argue that condominium government requires attention, not just for its impact on owners or residents, but also because cities must now account for, work alongside, and, in some circumstances, contend with these rapidly proliferating sites of government that are helping to shape who has the right to live in the city.