A collective sale is the sale of a strata development as a whole under the Land Titles (Strata) Act
A worked RES examination question on collective sale eligibility, from our Paper 2 bank — with the rule it turns on, and why each of the four options is right or wrong.
The question
Grandview Mansions is a strata development of 60 subsidiary proprietors whose owners are weary of rising maintenance bills and have begun to talk about selling the whole estate. Next door stands a single freehold bungalow, owned outright by one elderly widow, who has heard the neighbours use the word "en-bloc" and wonders whether she too could put her house through the same process to fetch a better price. An agent is asked, for each property, whether a collective sale is even available. Which statement is correct?
The answer, and why
Answer: B
The rule. A collective sale is the sale of a strata development as a whole under the Land Titles (Strata) Act. It needs two or more subsidiary proprietors: the whole point of the statutory machinery is to bind a dissenting minority. A single-title house owned by one party is sold in the ordinary way — there is no minority to bind and nothing to "collect".
Why B is correct. Grandview Mansions, a strata development, can pursue a collective sale; the single-title bungalow cannot, however willing its owner.
The other options.
- A treats "willing owners" as the test; the property must be a strata development, not merely willingly sold.
- C misreads the bungalow's single ownership as an advantage — with one owner there is no collective sale to make.
- D invents a leasehold-only limit; tenure is irrelevant, and Grandview qualifies whatever its tenure.
Exam note. Strata development with two-plus owners = collective sale. A single-title house is just an ordinary sale.
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