“This case raises a single issue: the arrangements for selling the matrimonial home. The appellant wanted to sell the home and divide the net proceeds of the sale, while the respondent wanted to purchase the appellant’s interest in it. The current value of the home was not established at trial. The trial judge granted the respondent the right to purchase the matrimonial home within 30 days from the release of his decision after obtaining a fair market value assessment.
The appellant submits that the trial judge erred in making this order. We agree.
As this court explained in Martin v. Martin, 1992 CanLII 7402 (ON CA), [1992] 8 O.R. (3d) 41 (C.A.), a right of first refusal is a substantive right that has economic value. It falls outside the boundaries of what is ancillary or what is reasonably necessary to implement the order for sale of the matrimonial home. It distorts the market for the sale of the matrimonial home by eliminating the need to compete against any other prospective purchaser, thus potentially reducing the amount the joint owning spouse realizes on the sale. In the absence of consent, the right of first refusal should not have been granted in this case. If the respondent seeks to purchase the matrimonial home, he must compete with any other interested purchaser.”