So you've found your dream neighbourhood. Close to parks and
schools. Near your children's friends. Safe. Close
to work. You find the perfect house for you and your family in
your dream neighbourhood and it is for sale. You make an offer and
it's accepted. It seems perfect and your dream is coming
true.
Before closing, the dream turns to a nightmare. The vendor
says he won't sell you the house. You really want that
house. Not any other house. That house.
Unfortunately, you may not be able to force the vendor to sell
you that specific house. Since a Supreme Court of
Canada's decision in Southcott Estates Inc. v. Toronto
Catholic District School Board (2012 SCC 51), it has been
clear in Canada that a purchaser cannot force a sale with respect
to developable or raw land. In that case, the court decided
that the purchaser, a land developer, once it learned the deal
would not close, had an obligation to go out and look for other
land in order to mitigate its losses.
