Top 10 Real Estate Headlines from North America As we all know, Michael Jackson died this past summer. Although the stories of his unusual lifestyle and abuses have flooded the media, it appears that his estate plan was rather conventional. With the events of 2008 and 2009, the industry's outlook seemed bleak. Sponsors, broker-dealers, and registered representatives spent most that time wrestling with problems and asset management. The electricity industry’s movement toward renewable energy development presents a unique opportunity for owners and developers of large-scale real property (e.g., warehouses and distribution centers). Florida's legislature has just amended various provisions of state law relating to condominiums and homeowners associations. The Ontario government announced in its March 26, 2009 budget that it plans to harmonize the 8% Ontario retail sales tax with the 5% federal goods and services tax to form a 13% harmonized sales tax (HST), effective July 1, 2010 (the "Implementation Date"). Owners and operators certainly do not need another thing to argue about, especially in the current economic environment. While new management deals are scarce, renegotiated contracts – whether with the original owner, the lender, or a new owner – are becoming more commonplace every day. On October 22, 2009, New York's highest court, the Court of Appeals, held that landlords cannot deregulate rents on units under luxury decontrol provisions of the Rent Stabilization Law ("RSL") while accepting public tax incentive benefits. In a previous article we highlighted the need for contract drafters to give consideration to the inter-relationship of common risk management provisions in construction contracts and specifically reviewed the relationship between a maximum liability clause and the requirement to obtain a performance bond in a stipulated amount. One of the three essential elements of any construction contract is a complete description of the work that the contractor is required to do. Last week the Florida Legislature passed Senate Bill 360, which enacted sweeping changes to Florida’s growth management laws. | 
