Q: Our management company is charging us $800 for each of our trust accounts to file the new tax returns required for bare trusts.  If a strata corporation is self managed or has a management company, is a strata corporation operating account, contingency or special levy a bare trust?  Are we required to file this […]

A big property owners group in British Columbia has officially filed suit against both the Province of British Columbia and the City of Victoria over the new short-term rentals legislation that’s set to come into effect on May 1.   Read the article…………………………….

Dear Tony: We recently moved into a coach house that is part of a new three-unit strata corporation in Vancouver. We have always lived in larger strata buildings that have operated smoothly, but we can already see a few rough roads ahead. The owner of the largest unit has decided we will be casual in […]

Dear Tony:  Our 36-unit townhouse complex in the Okanagan has an energy supply problem. Over the past five years, six owners have converted their gas furnaces to heat pumps and three owners now have electric vehicles with charging stations, and there are several air conditioners installed.     Read the article…………………………….

Dear Tony: Our management company is charging us $800 for each of our trust accounts to file the new tax returns required for bare trusts. If a strata corporation is self managed or has a management company, is a strata corporation operating account, contingency or special levy a bare trust? Are we required to file […]

A landowner is fighting to free itself from a contractual obligation to operate an unprofitable Barrhaven golf course forever.  The legal battle over Cedarhill Golf and Country Club revolves around a subdivision agreement signed in 1980, which requires “the continued operation of a golf course on the property in perpetuity.”  Read the article…………………………….

A B.C. couple was repeatedly fined by their strata for violating occupancy limits after the births of their children, according to a complaint filed with the human rights tribunal.  The strata lost a bid to have the case dismissed earlier this month with the tribunal finding – in part – that there is a public […]

Chuhui Shen launched a human rights complaint against the strata at Deerfield at 7501 Cumberland St., but the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal dismissed her case without a hearing, saying there was ‘no reasonable prospect’ she would be able to prove her race and place of origin were factors in the strata’s conduct.     Read the […]

Dear Tony: We are a 1980s mid-rise 12-floor building in Burnaby. Rather than manage the windows on the exterior as common property, our strata council let owners change their windows without any alteration agreements or approvals, and many without the consent of the council. About 40 per cent of our windows have been changed.    Read […]

Toronto consistently ranks as one the most desired places to live in North America, and with ambitious immigration targets by the Government of Canada, there is an urgent need for sustainable housing, with condos paving the way as the predominant housing choice. However, new research shows that traditional Toronto condos are starved of quality, architecture, […]

The strata at Discovery Park on Carrigan Court claims The Harrington next door has ‘refused to accept’ a court order upholding a nearly 40-year-old agreement compelling them to share the costs of a pool, tennis court and other amenities at the two Lougheed-area highrises.    Read the article…………………………….

Langley resident Jessica Simpson loses one of nine claims made against Simpson’s strata, this time for a failed fire alarm; Simpson was found guilty of false alarm of fire last December.    Read the article…………………………….

Q:  Is there a chance the Standard Bylaws of the Act will ever change? It would significantly reduce the number of agreements we would require for owners to be responsible for the changes owners are making for EV charging, heat pumps, furnace conversions and balconies.  Read the Q&A………………………………..

An investigation report by the City of Edmonton has found that the construction of a condo building evacuated due to structural problems in September did not align with design drawings, confirming what engineers determined last year.    Read the article…………………………….

Q:  Our strata is a bareland strata over 200 units and we have been developing a new set of bylaws over the past year. We have held several information meetings and distributed drafts to our owners.  Unfortunately, a small group of owners have taken it upon themselves to create a serious division in our community […]

A Burnaby strata has been ordered to get its governance ship in order after an owner appealed to the province’s Civil Resolution Tribunal with a list of complaints.  Chui Wong, an owner at Crystal Manor at 9623 Manchester Dr., told the tribunal the strata was “generally ignoring owners’ interests through its actions or non-action,” according […]

The smell is gone and the bill will be paid.  Who pays to correct the cause of a sewage smell in the hallway of a south-end Barrie condo has been resolved. Bud York, president of Yonge Station’s board of directors, says Pratt Homes — which built 100 Dean Ave., near Yonge Street and Madelaine Drive, […]

Dear Tony: Is there a chance the Standard Bylaws of the Act will ever change? It would significantly reduce the number of agreements we would require for owners to be responsible for the changes owners are making for EV charging, heat pumps, furnace conversions and balconies.  We are a mix of an apartment style building […]

A judicial review in the BC Supreme Court has found nothing in the provincial Mines Act legislation that would help the Highlands District Community Associations (HDCA) in its fight against a rock quarry.   Read the article…………………………….

Q:  Our strata corporation has approved a special levy in payments for roofing of our eight- building complex. As a large development, this will be a significant amount. The first due date of the levy is June 1, then Oct. 1, and April 1, 2025, with a planned completion over a year. Total cost and […]

Dear Tony:  Our strata building was one of the unlucky victims of the extreme cold snap, resulting in an unheated stairwell riser freezing, bursting and damaging our common areas and 11 of our 65 units. To avoid an insurance claim, the property manager and council decided to treat these all as separate claims and advised […]

The province’s Civil Resolution Tribunal has ordered the strata at Acacia Gardens in South Burnaby to maintain its roof drains regularly and to reverse nearly $25,000 in repair costs it tried to charge two owners.   Read the article…………………………….

Dear Tony: Our strata is a bare land over 200 units and we have been developing a new set of bylaws over the past year. We have held several information meetings and distributed drafts to our owners.  Unfortunately, a small group of owners have taken it upon themselves to create a serious division in our […]

Numerous people are being taken to court after purchasing units in The Vivid, a building offering affordable housing units, without meeting the criteria.  Vivid at the Yates is a residential development in downtown Victoria with condominiums at a below-market price. Criteria for ownership stated that buyers had to live in the unit, and could not […]

B.C.’s Civil Resolution Tribunal has ordered a Vancouver strata to pay a man who rented a U-Haul $2,940 after the strata’s garage signs indicated the roof was higher than the vehicle.  In his March 7 decision, tribunal member Christopher Rivers said Nicholas Biden rented a U-Haul truck and went to visit strata tenant Jack Morris […]

Q: As owners of an investment property, we hope you will include our letter for other investors and strata councils to read. We owned two condos in Metro Vancouver that were permitted short-term rentals. They were frequently booked and a profitable investment for our retirement.   Read the Q&A………………………………..

B.C.’s Civil Resolution Tribunal has told a Sidney strata it has to disclose the name of a complainant in an off-leash dog dispute.  In his March 5 decision, tribunal vice-chair Eric Regehr said Lynn MacFarlane owned and lived in the strata lot when another resident complained that her dog was off leash on common property, […]

The Vivid at the Yates is a gleaming condo tower in downtown Victoria.  Built with an interest-free $53-million loan from the provincial government, Vivid was supposed to be a condo project that made a difference.  Only eligible buyers with a household income below $150,000 could purchase the units priced eight per cent below market value.  […]

A British Columbia court decision last month should be a deterrent to condominium developers who might terminate purchase agreements so they can resell the units at higher prices.  The court awarded a staggering $13 million to 30 condo buyers whose purchase agreements were improperly terminated by the builder.     Read the article…………………………….

As we embark on the journey of another year filled with opportunities and challenges, I am thrilled to declare 2024 as the Year of the Community Association here in Red Deer. This special designation is a tribute to the remarkable contributions these groups make to the social fabric of our city. Throughout the year, I […]

Dear Tony: Our strata corporation has approved a special levy in payments for roofing of our eight-building complex. As a large development this will be a significant amount. The first due date of the levy is June 1, then Oct. 1, and April 1, 2025 with a planned completion over a year. Total cost and […]

Dear Tony:  Our strata building was one of the unlucky victims of the extreme cold snap, resulting in an unheated stairwell riser freezing, bursting and damaging our common areas and 11 of our 65 units. To avoid an insurance claim, the property manager and council decided to treat these all as separate claims and advised […]

Bidding wars and rock-bottom prices — is this really Edmonton’s condo market?  While real estate is heating up across the country, Edmonton has remained mostly stagnant. In fact our apartment-style condos remain some of the most affordable anywhere in Canada.  But real estate agents are noticing a shift, and it could be big.   Read the […]

B.C.’s Civil Resolution Tribunal has ordered a White Rock strata do the gardening and mend fences after owners filed legal action against the strata.  Owners Celeste and Sean Michaels told tribunal vice-chair Eric Regehr that the strata had failed to repair and maintain common property adjacent to their strata lot.   Read the article…………………………….

Resolving a dispute over who should pay for certain repairs at Cascade Village will require a decision on the strata’s “whole governance and funding model,” according to the province’s Civil Resolution Tribunal, which refused to decide the issue.   Read the article…………………………….

Dear Tony: As owners of an investment property, we hope you will include our letter for other investors and strata councils to read. We owned two condos in Metro Vancouver that were permitted short-term rentals. They were frequently booked and a profitable investment for our retirement.    Read the Q&A………………………………..

A Burnaby strata is suing a concrete repair company for allegedly slicing through electrical conduits and knocking out the highrise’s elevator.  The Empress strata, located at 6282 Kathleen Ave. in Metrotown, hired JFR Concrete Repair and Waterproofing to repair parts of the building’s parkade where rainwater had been pooling, according to a notice of civil […]

Dear Tony: Our strata building was one of the unlucky victims of the extreme cold snap, resulting in an unheated stairwell riser freezing, bursting and damaging our common areas and 11 of our 65 units. To avoid an insurance claim, the property manager and council decided to treat these all as separate claims and advised […]

Dear Tony:  Our strata corporation is struggling with a Facebook page created by an owner that is publishing incorrect information about our major construction project. It has resulted in several potential purchasers walking away from our strata, and a supplier has demanded we pay 50 per cent of our material cost before they agree to […]