Condo owners in B.C. who have been battling for months for relief from skyrocketing strata insurance rates say the pandemic has shown what governments can do to help.   Read the article……………………………..

Three home owners in Wedgewood have been faced with an issue for the past several years, as the back of their properties have been sliding down the slope, which Bear Creek has eroded, causing concern for their safety and the properties’ value.  Read the article……………………………….

Toronto is responding to recent high-profile high-rise building fires by increasing scrutiny of fire safety systems. One focus of this scrutiny is ensuring smoke control systems are functioning as expected. The City recently hired more than 300 new fire inspectors to enforce compliance with what is known as Part 7 of Ontario’s building code. Their […]

Shaun Herr will have to find another means of security at the condo unit he is renting.  Herr had claimed that another occupant in the building has been harassing him.  That person is also allegedly loitering on the hallway outside the rental.  However, Herr has lost his fight with the strata corporation over his wish […]

Dear Tony: What happens when an electronic meeting has to adjourn as a result of technical problems and voting problems?  We held our annual meeting last week via a zoom conference. The meeting was confusing from the beginning. No one had planned how the registration was going to take place, how voting cards were going […]

There just wasn’t enough time to get a better deal.  Residents of the 95-unit Prestwick townhouse complex in Langley’s Willoughby Heights will have to dig deeper to pay their insurance after a last-minute notice of a major rate hike sent them scrambling in search of a better deal.    Read the article…………………………

Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) held a series of round table discussions across Canada to gather feedback from various stakeholders and get a better understanding of issues that are causing significant increases in insurance premiums across condominiums in Canada and what possible solutions may lie in helping to reduce these costs.    Read the article…………………………………

Kelowna’s beloved Kings Garden will continue to grow after a nearby strata council has decided to keep supplying water.  This spring marks the eleventh year of the Kings Garden, which is located behind the Meadowbrook Estates community next to the rail trail.     Read the article…………………………

A lot has been written about virtual AGM’s an electronic voting lately. These concepts are not new but their requirement is being precipitated by the current pandemic.  In this post, we set out the step- by-step process by which your condo corporation can eventually hold virtual meetings and hold votes electronically.    Read the article………………………………

To understand the challenges and management issues that may arise from electronic voting test run your planned meetings to determine if the platform or method selected complies with the Strata Property Act, regulations, the bylaws of the strata corporation and logistically enables you to run the meeting.    Read the article………………………….

The majority of Ontario’s Condominium Authority board has resigned en masse in a move connected to accusations of an alleged conflict of interest issue with at least one member.   Read the article……………………………

The Kunzlers bought property for their farm in a bare land strata corporation. [A bare land strata is composed individual land parcels.]  At the time of their purchase, the strata bylaws did not prohibit cannabis farming.   Read the article……………………………..

Life isn’t fun sitting on a strata council.  I know because I’ve been elected to a few in my younger days and they were unpleasant. Each one was divided into a few people who wanted to just get things done in an orderly fashion and then a group of annoying busy-bodies who recoiled at the […]

Stratas can learn something about a dispute that was brought before a B.C. Civil Resolution Tribunal.  The matter was in connection with a car parked by a visitor at a strata property, which was later towed.  The strata has signage at its parking area that says ‘visitors’.    Read the article………………………….

Dear Tony: Our property manager and strata president issued notice of our annual general meeting last week for the approval of the annual budget and election of council.     Read the Q&A……………………………….

Dear Tony: Our strata corporation is 118 units in the Fraser Valley. In 2010, we adopted a new bylaw package that was drafted and reviewed by our lawyer that included a bylaw permitting annual or special general meetings to be conducted by electronic methods.       Read the Q&A…………………………

Rob Parker said there wasn’t much advance notice of a big insurance premium hike at the 95-unit Prestwick townhouse complex in Langley’s Willoughby Heights area where he lives.  On Friday, March 20th, three days before the insurance was due to be renewed, Parker, the strata council president, learned the premium would nearly triple, rising from […]

In a dispute that reached a B.C. Civil Resolution Tribunal, the question was: Is a pergola considered patio furniture?  Strata owner Brandon Trent brought a claim before the tribunal, asking for an order that would allow him to keep his pergola on his second floor balcony.  According to Trent, the pergola is patio furniture.    Read […]

A Burnaby condo owner has successfully fended off a $15,000 bill from his strata for damage caused by an alleged washing-machine overflow nearly three years ago.  According to a Civil Resolution Tribunal ruling Wednesday, Wei Liu owns a condo at Sandlewood, a 200-unit condo complex comprised of three low-rise buildings on Government Street.     Read […]

Dear Tony: Our strata had our annual meeting by restricted proxy and a simultaneous zoom meeting which worked very well. We had the largest participation ever.   Read the Q&A………………………….

Insurers, government officials and condo owner representatives recently held a four-hour, online meeting to discuss the other crisis facing stratas in B.C.: Building insurance that is soaring in price or simply disappearing.   Read the article…………………………

Many B.C. condo stratas are in a panic over the skyrocketing insurance costs for their buildings, but irresponsible strata councils bear some of the blame for these price spikes, says one Abbotsford developer.     Read the article…………………………..

You may want to check if your toilet is loose and not properly seated.  That faulty home fixture may cause a sewage leakage.  If you live in a condo, that could cause damage not only to your property but to others as well.   Read the article……………………….

At about 9:30 Friday night, the province of Ontario issued an Order in Council suspending all limitation periods and all procedural deadlines to be taken in civil proceedings. While this was welcomed news for litigators in Ontario, it raised a vital question for condo lawyers:   Read the article………………………

Q: A notice has been placed in our building stating: “No smoking of any kind.” This is, apparently, the result of marijuana smoke from units entering the common element hallways. Our building has never been a non-smoking building. Can the property manager, on behalf of the board, enforce this without getting approval of a bylaw?  Read […]

This week, after Ontario Premier Doug Ford declared a state of emergency in the province, the Association of Condominium Managers of Ontario posted several notices on its website, including a Toronto Public Health bulletin about infection prevention and bulletins urging condo corporations to consider closing public amenities and postponing AGMs.    Read the article…………………………….

Dear Tony: Our strata corporation is 125 units and we have an upcoming annual general meeting that is going to be critical, as we need to approve a significant increase in our budget to cover our insurance.  We do have a common room where we only get 50 to 60 people attending, but in consideration […]

In the absence so far of any better notions, here’s an idea about the condo insurance crisis that might be worth talking about. The concept would see strata councils walk away from gouging insurance companies, pool their resources — and their risk — and insure themselves.   Read the article……………………….

In B.C., 1.5 million people, almost one in three, live in strata condos and townhouses, many of which have been hit by skyrocketing insurance rates that have left residents in financial distress and worried about their futures.   Read the article…………………………

An Ontario court judge has ruled that buyers of a pre-construction condo unit could close their purchase transaction despite the builder terminating the deal.  Alex and Kelly Lucas signed an agreement in January, 2015, to buy a pre-built unit, from a numbered company, in the Roncesvalles Village area for $369,000. Over the next three years, […]

Dear Tony: Our strata corporation has just renewed our insurance policy. As part of the renewal, our increases were 150 per cent for premiums, deductibles increased from $25,000 to $100,000, we have a loss limit now that covers only $35 million of our $55-million appraisal, and we have an earthquake deductible buy down from 15 […]

A blaze at a four-storey condo in the northwest community of Varsity on Tuesday morning could have been worse if not for the efforts of an off-duty firefighter living in the building, fire officials say.   Read the article…………………………..

While there is the possibility of relief for condo owners paying ridiculously high insurance rates, the province says there’s a lot of work to be done between now and then.  The provincial government continues to come under fire for climbing insurance rates, with some people paying twice what they were a year ago.   Read the […]

An Edmonton lawyer is travelling the province talking to condominium owners, managers and insurers in an effort to get hard data on Alberta’s condominium insurance.  On Thursday, Hugh Willis asked Fort McMurray condo owners about their experience in getting insurance coverage on their condo complexes.   The response was worrying, he said.   Read the article………………………….

Emotions are running high for many permanent and seasonal residents whose properties are located on a short stretch of Lake Erie shoreline here that has endured several recent floods caused by record-high lake levels sending powerful waves crashing over break walls.   Read the article………………………….

This blog will likely get me burned in effigy outside the Record office, but I’m still writing it.  New Westminster residents who own in a strata need to take a hard look in the mirror as the reality of sky-high insurance rates hits their buildings.    Read the article………………………….

A condo board in Alberta has won a court battle preventing owners from engaging in short-term rentals through web-based platforms.  Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Paul Belzil issued a permanent injunction Thursday in support of The Ten Lofts Condominium Association in Edmonton and its legal right to ban rentals through groups such as Airbnb, Expedia, […]

Stratas in B.C. used to allocate between 10 and 25 per cent of their annual budgets for insurance costs. Now, that range is expected to widen.   Read the article……………………………

The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) has released its policy recommendations to help address B.C.’s concerns about the affordability of its strata insurance.  An official release from the bureau revealed that its recommendations builds on the work of its National Commercial Insurance Task Force. The task force brings together insurers, government, and other stakeholders to […]

As some BC condo owners are reporting insurance premium hikes of 300 per cent, the MLA for Kamloops-South Thompson says he knows his bill to try and reduce skyrocketing strata insurance rates won’t solve the problem.  Todd Stone – the BC Liberal Municipal Affairs Critic – says he believes his bill would provide some relief […]

Q: Read the Q&A………………………Our strata corporation is one of the properties where our deductible has gone from $25,000 to $100,000 dollars as a result of two claims last year. We approved our annual budget in December and now are projecting a short fall of about $65,000 with the insurance increases.  A number of questions have […]

Despite amendments made Jan. 1 to the Condominium Property Act — meant to cut red tape and protect condo owners and their investments — some critics say it doesn’t go far enough.  Effective now, condo corporations must have insurance to protect themselves against fraudulent or dishonest acts, specifically pointing to crimes committed by condo board […]

The BC Liberals have introduced legislation the party says would address skyrocketing insurance rates that strata corporations are being required to pay.  Liberal MLA Todd Stone introduced private member’s legislation on Tuesday that, if passed, would require insurance companies to provide strata corporations insurance renewal terms at least 30 days in advance.      Read the […]