tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61324262390078664242024-03-12T21:40:08.176-07:00Taeya Fitzpatrick's Strata Law BlogUpdates on the latest cases and law that affect Strata Corporations in British ColumbiaTaeya Fitzpatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01256432023056280925noreply@blogger.comBlogger78125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6132426239007866424.post-57373847081894457762021-09-26T15:28:00.003-07:002022-03-08T13:28:28.289-08:00Strata Council Has Received a Bylaw Complaint, Now What?There is often confusion as to the strata council's role when owners are in a dispute and the bylaws are involved. Common incorrect reactions from council are: This is a dispute between neighbours, council doesn't want to get involved. The neighbours should just talk to each other and they would be able to sort out their issues. The issue is too petty for council to get Taeya Fitzpatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01256432023056280925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6132426239007866424.post-66453104144934877082021-07-11T12:00:00.005-07:002022-03-08T13:29:03.783-08:00Bylaw Changes Can Affect How You Want to Use Your Strata Lot After You BuyMost (and hopefully all) people review the strata's bylaws before they purchase the strata lot to make sure there aren't any bylaws that will interfere with how they want to use the strata lot they are buying. But what happens when you buy a strata lot and the strata changes the bylaws (and they weren't planning on making that change until after you buy) and now there is a bylaw that specificallyTaeya Fitzpatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01256432023056280925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6132426239007866424.post-23156090551760200282021-01-28T17:43:00.005-08:002022-03-08T13:29:13.285-08:00New Procedure for Appealing CRT DecisionsOriginally, anyone not happy with their CRT strata decision had to apply to the BC Supreme Court for leave to appeal the decision. As set out in my first post on this subject, there was a test to be met before the leave for appeal would be granted: (a) whether an issue raised by the claim or dispute that is the subject of the appeal is of such importance that it would benefit from being Taeya Fitzpatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01256432023056280925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6132426239007866424.post-60401248396911676732021-01-28T17:27:00.009-08:002022-03-08T13:29:25.190-08:00Strata Loses Appeal re Insurance Deductibles In my previous post: Improperly Charging Insurance Deductibles to Owners, I discussed several cases in the Civil Resolution Tribunal regarding strata corporations charging insurance deductibles to owners. Since that post, the appeal of The Owners, Strata Plan BCS 1589 v Nacht, has been completed and the strata corporation lost the appeal. In that case, water leaked from the Taeya Fitzpatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01256432023056280925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6132426239007866424.post-50345209885113100842020-09-28T16:00:00.002-07:002022-03-08T13:29:34.019-08:00CRT Says Retroactive Fines Improper In a recent Civil Resolution Tribunal ("CRT") strata decision, a strata owner disputed fines levied against her for renting her strata lot out: Shen v The Owners, Strata Plan LMS 970, 2020 BCCRT 953. The strata was seeking to collect $19,500 in fines against the owner. In this case, the strata had a rental restriction bylaw wherein an owner required strata permission before renting Taeya Fitzpatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01256432023056280925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6132426239007866424.post-54336746724988552682020-04-20T08:17:00.002-07:002020-04-20T08:17:28.323-07:00Electronic Strata General Meetings During COVID Pandemic
During this COVID pandemic, the BC government has specifically permitted Strata Corporations to meet electronically. You can read the Order here:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/housing-and-tenancy/strata-housing/images/m114-2020.pdfTaeya Fitzpatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01256432023056280925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6132426239007866424.post-29759437427740282772020-01-07T15:29:00.002-08:002022-03-08T13:29:44.763-08:00Paying the Cost of Challenging a Will
In the BC Court system a plaintiff takes a risk suing where, if they lose, they not only pay their own lawyer's legal fees, they end up paying some (and sometimes most or all) of the defendant's legal fees. The default in BC is that the loser pays "costs". This, sometimes, gives people pause before suing because they should only sue if they have an arguable case.
In estate litigation cases, Taeya Fitzpatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01256432023056280925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6132426239007866424.post-90315872302140737292019-12-12T07:45:00.004-08:002022-03-08T13:29:55.696-08:00Owners Entitled to Extend Patio onto Common Property
A strata corporation has control over the common property and most (if not all) strata bylaws require approval of the strata to make alterations to the common property. In the case of a patio extension onto common property, an owner does not have an automatic right to extend their patio or make changes to the common property (or limited common property) backyard.
As with all decisions of the Taeya Fitzpatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01256432023056280925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6132426239007866424.post-60677686189597885712019-10-07T09:20:00.002-07:002022-03-08T13:30:03.878-08:00Collecting Legal Fees for Bylaw Enforcement
In the first case of its kind, the BC Supreme Court assessed the amount legal fees payable to the Strata Corporation from the owner that breached the Strata's bylaws: The Owners, Strata Plan K 27 v. Caron, 2019 BCSC 1046.
In this case, the Strata sued the owner to enforce its bylaws and to evict the owner. The Strata was successful, the court found that the owner breached the bylaws, ordered Taeya Fitzpatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01256432023056280925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6132426239007866424.post-33538495061801618582019-08-26T11:01:00.003-07:002022-03-08T13:30:11.422-08:00CRT Says Hardship Exemptions not Available for AirBnB Rentals
As discussed in a previous post, the Strata Property Act (the "SPA") provides a hardship exemption from rental bylaws when those bylaws cause hardship to an owner if that owner cannot rent their strata lot. What is hardship depends on the facts and circumstances of each individual owner.
In a recent case before the Civil Resolution Tribunal, an owner argued that she should be able to rent her Taeya Fitzpatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01256432023056280925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6132426239007866424.post-5411505180156456092019-07-26T09:45:00.002-07:002022-03-08T13:30:34.504-08:00CRT Awards Legal Fees
In the first decision of its kind, the CRT has award legal fees against an owner and payable to a strata corporation. In the case of Parfitt v The Owners, Strata Plan VR 416, 2019 BCCRT 330, the owners were suing the strata corporation over concerns of the proper governance of the strata corporation.
However, one of the owners had already sued the strata corporation in BC Supreme Court for Taeya Fitzpatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01256432023056280925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6132426239007866424.post-42104821065836638912019-05-24T14:18:00.004-07:002022-03-08T13:30:43.508-08:00Hardship Exemptions from Rental Bylaws
The Strata Property Act provides a hardship exemption to owners when a rental bylaw causes hardship. In two decisions from the CRT, the CRT was tasked with the question of whether the owners were entitled to a hardship exemption.
In the decision of The Owners, Strata Plan LMS 724 v Smith, 2018 BCCRT 765, the strata wanted the owners to stop renting their strata lot and pay fines in the sum of Taeya Fitzpatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01256432023056280925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6132426239007866424.post-41012616591777204842019-05-21T16:46:00.002-07:002022-03-08T13:30:50.016-08:00Short Terms Rentals not Protected
In a previous post, I discussed the issue of whether a rental disclosure statement protects an owner from a rental restriction bylaw with respect to Air BnB use of a strata lot: spoiler alert, it does not.
The owner as noted in my previous post had purchased a strata lot and was renting it out on a short-term, Air BnB type rental. The owner had been relying on the rental disclosure statement Taeya Fitzpatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01256432023056280925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6132426239007866424.post-61112786011124566682019-05-06T14:32:00.003-07:002022-03-08T13:31:00.281-08:00Enforcing Short-Term Rental Restrictions
The issue of short term rentals is an ongoing and complex issue for many strata corporations and one strata in particular. In one of my previous posts, I discussed a strata in North Vancouver that successfully restricted an owner from short-term AirBnB type rentals and was granted $4,600 in fines for the owner's breaches.
The original decision was at the Civil Resolution Tribunal. The owner Taeya Fitzpatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01256432023056280925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6132426239007866424.post-72465354691411871012019-03-15T11:12:00.004-07:002022-03-08T13:31:10.817-08:00Reasonable Legal Fees Decision Overturned
A strata corporation typically incurs legal fees when collecting strata fee or special levy arrears from owners through the strata lien process. As discussed in my previous post Can a strata collect full legal fees when collecting on a strata lien?, those legal fees can be collected 100% from the owner who was in arrears.
In my original post, I discussed how a strata is only entitled to Taeya Fitzpatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01256432023056280925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6132426239007866424.post-28526797300983554142019-02-11T09:02:00.002-08:002022-03-08T13:31:18.975-08:00Expanding the Size of a Strata Lot
The Strata Property Act has a specific, if lengthy, procedure when expanding the habitable area of a strata lot. In the case of Hassan v The Owners, Strata Plan LMS 2854, 2018 BCCRT 303, the strata was in a dispute with the owners over whether the owners followed the correct procedure when expanding their habitable area.
The owners' strata lot had made two sets of alterations to their second Taeya Fitzpatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01256432023056280925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6132426239007866424.post-53182054343779218952019-02-05T10:11:00.003-08:002019-02-05T10:11:35.405-08:00New CRT Rules for Motor Vehicle Injury DisputesThe Civil Resolution is adding rules regarding motor vehicle injury disputes. You can review and comment on the new draft rules here:
https://civilresolutionbc.ca/crt-rules-consultation/ Taeya Fitzpatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01256432023056280925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6132426239007866424.post-41489932675587341442019-01-02T14:20:00.002-08:002022-03-08T13:31:28.591-08:00Strata Can't Restrict Occupancy of Strata Lots
In the case of The Owners, Strata Plan VR 855 v Shawn Oaks Holdings Ltd., 2018 BCSC 1162, the strata corporation and a corporate owner were in dispute as to whether the bylaws permitted rentals or not.
The strata had a bylaw that provided:
". . . all strata lots are to be occupied by the owner, or their immediate family."
The effect of the strata's bylaw was to restrict rentals and the Taeya Fitzpatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01256432023056280925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6132426239007866424.post-47078941312709760672018-12-10T14:49:00.002-08:002022-03-08T13:31:37.355-08:00Owners Ordered to Remove Large Dogs
In another post, I discussed a case where an owner was ordered to find a new home for their aggressive dog. This is not the only case that deals with a pet issue in stratas. There are at least three other notable cases with respect to pets.
In the first two cases, the owners were ordered to remove their large dogs from their strata lots because the dogs were larger than the bylaws permitted. Taeya Fitzpatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01256432023056280925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6132426239007866424.post-1282152660051560852018-11-20T10:08:00.002-08:002022-03-08T13:31:44.227-08:00Has Your Strata Prepared for the Marijuana Legalization?
Marijuana was an issue in strata's before the legalization of marijuana, but was not as wide ranging an issue due to the fact that only medical marijuana was legal. Now, any persons can consume and grow their own marijuana.
Although it is legal, there are still restrictions and stratas have some protection against the unfettered consumption of marijuana in their stratas. Most, if not all Taeya Fitzpatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01256432023056280925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6132426239007866424.post-54061180928589042412018-09-26T16:37:00.003-07:002022-03-08T13:31:53.215-08:00Owner Must Re-Home Aggressive Dog
Pets are often a polarizing issue: are owners permitted pets, if so, what kind of pets are they allowed. Even if owners are permitted to have pets in their strata lot, the strata can force the removal of the pet under certain circumstances.
In the case of The Owners, Strata Plan BCS 1644 v Lukovic, 2018 BCCRT 219, the owners kept a German Sheppard dog in their strata lot. Starting in 2014, theTaeya Fitzpatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01256432023056280925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6132426239007866424.post-23572334688796777042018-09-04T16:50:00.002-07:002022-03-08T13:32:02.098-08:00Strata Wins $54,000 in Fines Against Owner
Strata Corporations can issue fines when an owner breaches the bylaws. At $200 an occurrence and a further $200/week for an ongoing contravention, the fines can add up fairly quickly. In the case of the Owners, Strata Plan KAS 3162 v Staerkle, 2018 BCSC 1290, the fines were in excess of $50,000.00, and the Court ordered the owner to pay the fines.
This case involved a bare land strata in Taeya Fitzpatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01256432023056280925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6132426239007866424.post-58849712269695513432018-08-07T09:43:00.003-07:002022-03-08T13:32:11.001-08:00Unreasonable Noise Levels in Strata Living
Unreasonable noise can, depending on the circumstances, amount to nuisance. In law, a party that causes a nuisance, can be liable for somewhat nominal (depending on the circumstances) damages.
The case of Chen v The Owners, Strata Plan NW 2265, 2017 BCCRT 113, was a dispute as to whether the common property hot tub, in an condo-type strata, caused a nuisance to the owner who lived in the unit Taeya Fitzpatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01256432023056280925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6132426239007866424.post-12704529646318297092018-05-09T09:33:00.002-07:002022-03-08T13:32:19.738-08:00Failure to Respond to CRT
Not only can the CRT make default orders against a respondent that fails to file a response to a claim, but the CRT can make default orders against a party that files a response and fails to respond to communications from the CRT.
As previously discussed in a past post, there is an ability to overturn default orders. However, once a default order is granted, overturning it will be more Taeya Fitzpatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01256432023056280925noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6132426239007866424.post-65262332667450317562018-05-09T09:20:00.002-07:002022-03-08T13:32:27.492-08:00Dispensing with Owner Signatures on Land Title Documents Failed
When amending the strata plan, the Strata Property Act only requires 3/4 vote approval of the owners, for many amendments. However, the amendment plan needs to be filed in the Land Title Office and the requirements of the Land Title Act are more onerous: the Land Title Act requires the signature of every registered owner and all charge-holders (mortgagees) of every single strata lot.
In the Taeya Fitzpatrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01256432023056280925noreply@blogger.com0