Hoogbruin and Company

Directions Website Contact the business

Hoogbruin and Company Since 1987, we've handled all manners of personal injury law. Practicing in the areas of bicycle cra

Most business owners sign their lease, shake hands, and assume good faith will carry the relationship. That assumption c...
10/23/2026

Most business owners sign their lease, shake hands, and assume good faith will carry the relationship.
That assumption can cost you everything.

Here's the uncomfortable truth:
BC commercial tenancies are not protected the same way residential ones are.

There is no Commercial Tenancy Act equivalent that automatically shields you. The lease document is the law — and if you didn't negotiate it carefully, the terms likely favour your landlord.

Sound familiar? Watch for these moves:
🔒 Access restrictions or service changes with little warning
📋 Vague renewal language that gives your landlord flexibility — not you
💬 Informal pressure around rent increases or lease-end timelines
These situations feel wrong.

But without knowing your legal position, most tenants stay quiet — and lose ground they didn't have to give up.
Knowing your rights isn't about going to war with your landlord.
It's about protecting what you've worked years to build.

Contact us.

Most presale buyers don't realize their contract keeps protecting them long after they sign. Under B.C.'s Real Estate De...
10/21/2026

Most presale buyers don't realize their contract keeps protecting them long after they sign.

Under B.C.'s Real Estate Development Marketing Act (REDMA), developers must disclose "material facts" — anything that could affect a buyer's decision — even if it comes up years after signing.

We saw this happen in Burnaby's Eclipse case: a B.C. Supreme Court judge voided over $30 million in presale contracts after the developer hid a major tax judgment and permit suspensions. The ruling held even though the developer was insolvent.


Source: CBC News, "Pre-sale purchasers in troubled Lower Mainland condo tower win battle to declare contracts invalid" (Aug. 26, 2026) https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/eclipse-thind-presale-contract-court-9.7321471

A major win for Lower Mainland presale buyers. A B.C. Supreme Court judge has ruled that presale contracts for more than...
10/19/2026

A major win for Lower Mainland presale buyers.
A B.C. Supreme Court judge has ruled that presale contracts for more than three dozen units at Burnaby's Eclipse project — worth over $30 million — are unenforceable, after the developer failed to disclose major problems, including a $12-million CRA judgment and suspended building permits.
Under B.C.'s Real Estate Development Marketing Act (REDMA), developers must disclose material facts that could affect a buyer's decision — and that duty doesn't end the moment you sign. It continues for as long as the project is being built.
The court also confirmed this protection holds even when a developer becomes insolvent. Creditor protection doesn't erase a buyer's rights under REDMA.

Contact us.

Source: CBC News, "Pre-sale purchasers in troubled Lower Mainland condo tower win battle to declare contracts invalid" (Aug. 26, 2026) https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/eclipse-thind-presale-contract-court-9.7321471

10/16/2026

Save this before you sign — or before your next renewal date. 📋

One of the most misunderstood clauses in a commercial lease is the renewal notice window. Most tenants assume they can simply continue month-to-month or reach out when they're ready. What many don't realize is that under a standard commercial lease — and consistent with principles in B.C.'s Commercial Tenancy Act — the obligation to provide notice of intent to renew falls entirely on the tenant, within a fixed, non-negotiable window.

Miss it, and you face two outcomes you didn't plan for: automatic renewal on the landlord's terms, or losing your business location entirely.
This isn't just a technicality — it's a clause that puts your business assets, savings, and livelihood directly on the line.

Contact us.

Most commercial tenants sign personal guarantees without fully understanding what they've agreed to. Here's the assumpti...
10/14/2026

Most commercial tenants sign personal guarantees without fully understanding what they've agreed to.

Here's the assumption: your business defaults, the company absorbs the loss.

Here's the reality, if you've signed a personal guarantee: you absorb the loss. Not the business. You — your assets, your savings.

A few things most people don't realize until it matters:
The liability can outlive the lease itself. It can survive the business closing entirely. And the scope isn't standard — some guarantees cap the exposure, others don't.

Negotiation is possible before signing. Most tenants just don't know to ask.

Contact us.

Most Vancouver restaurant owners don't find this out until the Notice to Vacate arrives. If you signed your commercial l...
10/12/2026

Most Vancouver restaurant owners don't find this out until the Notice to Vacate arrives.

If you signed your commercial lease under a numbered company, that structure doesn't always protect you personally — many leases carry a personal guarantee, and BC commercial tenancy law doesn't shield tenants the way residential law does. Your landlord's claim for the remaining rent doesn't disappear just because the business did.
The best time to understand what you actually signed — and what leverage you still have — is before a dispute starts, not after.

Hoogbruin & Company has guided Vancouver business owners through commercial lease disputes since 1987.
Contact us.

"I already closed on the property — isn't it too late to do anything?" A lawsuit out of Langley says otherwise. A buyer ...
10/09/2026

"I already closed on the property — isn't it too late to do anything?"
A lawsuit out of Langley says otherwise. A buyer claims her contract promised the condo wasn't in a flood zone — and the truth only surfaced nine months after she'd already signed. She's suing now, well past closing, to void the deal.
Misrepresentation claims can survive closing. If you find out after the fact that a seller or developer didn't tell you the full picture, the deal being "done" doesn't automatically shut the door on your options.
Worried something wasn't disclosed when you bought?
Contact us, link in bio.

Source: CityNews Vancouver, "B.C. developer facing lawsuit after allegedly misleading Langley buyers on floodplain status" (Mar. 10, 2026) — https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2026/03/10/bc-developer-facing-lawsuit-after-allegedly-misleading-buyers-on-floodplain-status/

Your purchase contract says one thing. Months later, an amendment says something very different. That's the situation a ...
10/07/2026

Your purchase contract says one thing. Months later, an amendment says something very different.

That's the situation a Langley buyer says she's in — her contract for a new condo stated the property wasn't on a floodplain, until an amendment nine months after she signed said otherwise. She's now suing the developer to void the deal (as reported by CityNews, March 2026).

If a seller or developer leaves out or misrepresents something material about a property — flood risk, water damage, structural problems — before you sign, that can be grounds to challenge the contract, even after the deal has closed.

Bought a property and found out something wasn't as promised?

Contact us.

Did a neighboring developer or property owner enter your land and cut down your mature trees without permission? Unautho...
09/30/2026

Did a neighboring developer or property owner enter your land and cut down your mature trees without permission? Unauthorized tree removal along property lines can severely impact your privacy, quiet enjoyment, and overall property value.

In British Columbia, entering a neighbor's land without consent is illegal property trespass. Property owners have the legal right to hold developers and contractors accountable for property value diminishment, land remediation costs, and loss of privacy.

If you are facing a property boundary dispute or illegal land encroachment in BC, Hoogbruin & Company provides strategic, dedicated legal advocacy to defend your land and financial investments.

Contact Hoogbruin & Company:

Phone: 604.609.3783
Email: [email protected]
Office: 1166 Alberni Street, Vancouver, BC
Website: hoogbruin.com
📩 Or click the link in our bio to schedule a confidential consultation.

Your presale deal is falling apart — and nobody is calling you back. 📵 The sleepless nights. The unanswered emails. The ...
09/28/2026

Your presale deal is falling apart — and nobody is calling you back. 📵
The sleepless nights.
The unanswered emails.

The sinking feeling that one of the biggest decisions of your life is unraveling — and you have no idea what to do next.
If you're a Metro Vancouver presale buyer right now, that feeling is real.
And you deserve to know the truth:
You are not as powerless as you feel. 🙏

Here's what most buyers don't realize when a presale starts to collapse:

→ Your contract contains rights — not just obligations. BC real estate law includes buyer protections that exist precisely for moments like this one.
→ Financing failure, builder default, and unmet conditions each carry different legal implications — and different paths forward that are worth understanding before you act.
→ The earlier you seek legal clarity, the more options you have. Waiting doesn't protect you — knowledge does.
This isn't about guaranteed outcomes.
It's about making your next move from a place of understanding — not panic.

👉 Link in bio to book a confidential consultation with Hoogbruin & Company.

Address

1166 Alberni Street, Suite 1604
Vancouver, BC
V6E3Z3

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Hoogbruin and Company posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Hoogbruin and Company:

Shortcuts

Share

Category