Definition : Harassment

Life in co-ownership is not always a long quiet river. It is like a micro-society where disputes are omnipresent. Many conflicts are neighborhood quarrels, which are usually settled with civility. However, it happens that some disputes are fueled by co-owners thirsty for justice who will want to assert their rights in court at all costs. This is why divided co-ownership is not immune to quarrelsome litigants who multiply legal recourses to redress real or fictitious damage. They usually represent themselves alone in court. They show stubbornness and narcissism by systematically trying to have indirectly what cannot be obtained directly.These righters seek to harm others by abusing their right to go to court.  

Differences of opinion between the different co-owners and directors of a co-ownership are not uncommon. They can be beneficial if they are done with respect. However, they must not turn into areas of harassment and intimidation. When some abuse their power, by making vexatious remarks, by undermining the credibility and reputation of others, any interested party is entitled to request the intervention of the Tribunal. In a recent Judgment of the Superior Court, the court issued a "protection order" against harassing, threatening or intimidating co-owners in a condominium. It is essentially a civil order to keep the peace, but with the difference that it is addressed only on behalf of specific persons.

Harassment in co-ownership can take many forms and develop in a wide variety of contexts. When occupants of a building with very different temperaments share a place to live, it happens that the spirits heat up to the point of making cohabitation impossible. A co-owner who infringes on his neighbor's privacy and interferes in his privacy can be particularly irritating and even embarrassing. If he comes to photograph him when he walks through the common portions, monitors all his comings and goings or installs a surveillance camera in the corridor pointing towards his front door, then there is an illegitimate invasion of his privacy. Such serious conduct can be considered psychological harassment, in that it seriously harms the person who is the victim.

Vivre en copropriété requiert une certaine tolérance et d'être diplomate à ses heures. Les conflits entre copropriétaires et administrateurs peuvent, bien souvent, trouver leur apaisement dans la communication. Bien que ce soit parfois plus facile à dire qu'à faire, mieux vaut (à tout le moins) essayer cette avenue, au lieu de se retrouver au tribunal avec toutes les répercussions négatives que cela suppose.

12 octobre 2019 — « La maison d’un homme est son château », dit un vieil adage. Mais lorsque ce château est un appartement détenu en copropriété divise, son propriétaire devrait savoir que les droits collectifs ont préséance sur ses droits individuels. Cela est d’autant plus vrai lorsqu’un conseil d’administration doit prendre d’importantes décisions. Malheureusement, certains copropriétaires n’ont pas en tête cette notion.

The management of the staff of the co-ownership involves several responsibilities. If the employer is the syndicate of co-owners, it is the board of directors and sometimes even the condo manager, in his capacity as mandatary of the syndicate, who is competent to give instructions to the employees of the co-ownership. Whether it is the janitor, the caretaker or the gardener, the implications are financial and affect the supervision of the employees. This management must take into account the following elements: recruitment, remuneration, employee performance evaluation, training and occupational health and safety. It must therefore be done rigorously.

15 septembre 2017 — Un couple de copropriétaires a réalisé que harceler des voisins peut coûter cher. Il a dû faire face à la justice, par le fait d’un autre couple qui l’a poursuivi pour harcèlement.