Legal Blog

Misrepresentation of Square Footage

Issa v. Wilson 2020 Ont CA

The purchaser had been told by the real estate agent and the vendor that the property was 2000 ft.² or more. The purchaser had been ready to close the real estate transaction, but when obtaining financing was informed by the appraiser that the house was only 1450 ft.². Even though the purchaser had attended at the property, the court still allowed the purchaser to terminate the agreement and receive his deposit. As a general proposition, a purchaser who inspects a property cannot complain of reliance on a misrepresentation as to its size. However, this is not an absolute proposition depending upon the circumstances. A material, false statement inducing the plaintiff to enter into a contract can result in its termination. In this case, the purchaser had been told of the false square footage, the differential was significant, the purchaser was not using the difference in size simply to get out of a contract that he had no intention to complete, and the purchaser was young and inexperienced in homebuying.

Written by Jonathan Speigel, the founding partner of Speigel Nichols Fox LLP, leads the litigation and construction practices.