Time is of the essence

Contracts for the purchase and sale of real property and other commercial contracts often contain a clause that says “time is of the essence” in respect of certain or all contractual obligations (a “Timing Clause”). Many parties sign contracts without given due consideration to the full impact of a Timing Clause or otherwise hold the belief that a Timing Clause is merely part of a standard form contract and would not be strictly applied.
Briefly put, a Timing Clause requires one or more parties to a contract to perform certain obligations by a specific date and time, failing which, the offending party(ies) will be considered to have materially breached the contract.
In the case of Gill v. Bal, 2017 BCSC 2015 (CanLII) the purchasers learned that there can be severe consequences for even the smallest of breaches of a Timing Clause.
In Gill v. Bal, the original purchaser … Continue reading “Time is of the essence: When late is no better than never”