A Police Investigation on Condominium Common Elements

In a recent Ontario case, police were found to have breached a condo owner’s privacy rights by investigating parts of the condo’s common elements with the intention of gathering evidence against this owner for criminal charges.  The police did not notify the management or the condominium corporation, through its Board of Directors, of their intended actions.  Indeed, the police had to sneak into certain parts of the condo that were/are not publicly accessible.  The court found that this was an egregious breach of privacy rights, and that the police require a warrant to access even the common elements of the condominium in such a scenario.  Essentially, the police were trespassing, and the evidence in the case against the owner was thrown out as a result.

Condominium owners should remember the words of the court Justice in this case: “The rights to privacy start at the garage door”.