Condominium Complex Unit Sales - Misleading Representations

The Competition Bureau initiated an inquiry on February 21, 2002, following an application filed by six persons resident in Canada. The application alleged that a real estate developer made materially false and misleading statements which affected the customers' purchasing decisions. Specifically, the application alleged that the developer's advertising campaign included numerous representations that the condominium complex would be built with electronic security gates, which, it was further alleged, had not been built. Paragraph 74.01 (1)(a) of the Competition Act prohibits the making of a materially false or misleading representation to the public.

The Bureau investigated the marketing practices of the company and determined that this matter did not warrant further inquiry because it was satisfied that:

1. the parties under inquiry remained committed to their obligation to build a gate; and
2. many of the delays in construction of the gate resulted from a lack of consensus by the condominium board and the condominium owners, themselves, as to the particular features of the gate, and were not due to bad faith on the part of the parties under inquiry.

The inquiry was discontinued on April 1^st, 2003.

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