Two Kelowna condo owners have found out the hard way that vacation rentals are allowed in their building even though the strata’s bylaws suggest that suites cannot be rented on a short-term basis.  In an effort to get the strata council to take action against owners renting their suites as short-term vacation rentals, condo owners […]

A downtown Toronto condo owner says despite reporting banned short-term rentals operating in her building for months, the bookings continue — and include self-isolating international travellers who she alleges sometimes flout Canada’s mandatory quarantine order.   Read the article……………………………..

Dear Tony:   Our strata corporation has just approved $125,000 from our contingency fund for roofing replacement. We received estimates from only one company, and several owners are concerned that we have not detailed the project correctly and did not get at least three bids before proceeding.   Read the Q&A………………………………..

Several residents of a B.C. trailer park have failed to get their neighbour fined after they took him to a strata tribunal in an effort to have him barred from feeding the squirrels.   Read the article…………………………………

Hundreds of homeowners in the northeast community of Skyview Ranch have been handed lawsuits alleging they violated homeowner association rules.  The residents are being sued by the Skyview Ranch Homeowners Association (HOA) for hundreds of dollars each to collect unpaid mandatory annual fees. According to multiple statements of claim filed by the HOA over a […]

Loreen and Ed Knelsen bought a unit in the south building of the resort in December 2009, which has been their permanent residence since that time.  Then on Dec. 11, 2019, they received a letter from their strata council, telling them their fees would increase by $10,800 a year if they did not put their […]

A condominium association at Hilliard’s Bay continues to plead with Big Lakes County to pave a main road.  At its regular meeting Jan. 13, council responded to a letter from Hilliard’s Bay Estates Condo Association.  “We want to sit down and talk with them about the project,” Reeve Ken Matthews says.    Read the article……………………………………

Dear Tony: Our strata council entered into a contract to change all of our lighting in common areas to LEDs to increase light levels and reduce the cost of electricity.  They did not obtain the authorization of the owners at a general meeting, and have declared there will be no additional expense, as the contractor […]

A Victoria seniors condo building has been reprimanded after it refused to let its housekeeper clean a condo because the owner had attended a funeral where no social distancing took place.  In a Jan. 20 Civil Resolution Tribunal decision, the strata council at Rosebank Gardens argued the situation happened in the very early days of […]

End user condominium purchasers can be surprisingly oblivious to not only their rights owners, but also how good governance can reduce both their short- and long-term monthly maintenance fees.  “Even current owners don’t know how condo corporations are run,”     Read the article…………………………….

Dear Tony:  Our strata council entered into a contract to change all of our lighting in common areas to LEDs to increase light levels and reduce electricity costs.  They did not obtain the owners’ authorization at a general meeting for this expense and have declared there is no additional expense as the contractor has agreed to […]

A condominium association at Hilliard’s Bay continues to plead with Big Lakes County to pave a main road.  At its regular meeting Jan. 13, council responded to a letter from Hilliard’s Bay Estates Condo Association.  “We want to sit down and talk with them about the project,” Reeve Ken Matthews says.    Read the article…………………………………

The City of Kingston is seeking the input of apartment and condo residents in regards to its decision on making the Green Bin program – separating food waste and organics from regular garbage – mandatory in apartments/condos.    Read the article………………………………….

Dear Tony: With so many people at home now, we have an increasing number of noise-related complaints. In our mid-sized Nanaimo apartment building constructed of wood, normal sounds like washing machines, flushing toilets, cabinets closing and people walking around are on the increase.   Read the Q&A…………………………………..

It turns out there are no limitations on increases in Mehrzad Namdari’s condominium fees, or anybody else’s in Ontario.  The Richmond Hill homeowner found out the hard way after being hit with an unexpected nine per cent hike on his condo fees this year.  Read the article……………………………….

The province’s auditor general revealed that condominium industry of Ontario does not adequately protects condo owners. CondoBI investigated tendencies of GTA condominiums’ maintenance fees change for the first 3 years   Read the article……………………………………

Dear Tony:   I have appreciated your column in The Province for a long time — it’s very informative and straightforward. I am the president of our building, and last year we successfully used Zoom for our Annual General Meeting, with roughly 100 people attending by computer, tablet and phone. We used the “Raise Hand” for […]

Around June last year, condo owner Helen Tran left a note on the door of neighbours living above her.  In the note, Tran asked them to keep the noise down.  The woman was specifically concerned about the noises being made by the toddler there.   Read the article………………………………..

Dear Tony: Last year, our strata successfully used Zoom for our AGM, with roughly 100 people attending by computer, tablet and phone. We used the “raise hand” system for voting, and the meeting went quite smoothly (after a lot of preparation).  Last year’s AGM was relatively simple in regards to issues and new board members […]

Question: I am the president of our condominium. It is the policy of our board that all board members sign a confidentiality agreement. We have a board member who refuses to sign the confidentiality agreement, and we believe that they like to share confidential board information with other owners. Can we exclude this board member […]

It may take years before British Columbia’s “unhealthy” strata insurance market normalizes, according to the BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA).  In its final report to government, the BCFSA cautioned that there is no simple fix for a market that has seen premiums and deductibles jump by double- and triple-digit percentage increases in a relatively short […]

Our Top Five Blog Stories from 2020    Read the article……………………………………..

In 1986, the Whitemud Creek Homeowner’s Association was a rarity in Edmonton.  Tucked between Rabbit Hill Road and the Whitemud Creek Ravine, the neighbourhood was initially planned as a gated community — to this day a guardhouse still stands at its entrance.  According to the research Donna LaFleche could dig up, when the city kiboshed the […]

A White Rock man has received a judicial roasting for falsely claiming to speak on behalf of a strata council before a quasi-judicial tribunal. Henry Peter Rose was a member of his strata council when he launched a claim at the Civil Resolution Tribunal for $2791.52 against Roderick Louis, alleging unpaid strata fees.    Read the […]

Residents of St. Andrew’s Place, a 55-plus condo building in Winnipeg, are speaking out about some unwanted guests in their building.  Dave Comeau, whose mother lives in the building, said he’s noticed a lot of people squatting in the last couple of months.     Read the article………………………………….

Residents in two southeast Calgary condo buildings were forced from their homes early Sunday morning.     Read the article……………………………………

A Crown corporation that regulates British Columbia’s private-sector insurance companies says an average 40 per cent increase in condo insurance premiums resulted from various factors including risks that insurers face from earthquakes, w    Read the article……………………………………

“The city also installed orange snow fencing to the top of the fence as a temporary measure to reduce the danger to wildlife by helping them better see the limits of the fence until the permanent retrofits could be completed,” she said.  The news comes as a relief to homeowner’s association president Melanie Wilson who […]

Dear Tony:  Our strata corporation normally has its annual meeting 60 days after our fiscal year-end at the end of February — this gives us time to review our financials in advance of the next year and provide an accurate report to the owners with our notice.   Read the Q&A…………………………………..

Recent amendments to the Occupiers’ Liability Act changing how slip-and-fall claims can be brought against condo corporations are good news for condo corporations and insurers, says Rodrigue Escayola, Gowling WLG civil litigator and condo lawyer.    Read the article………………………………………..

The Gordon Woods Homeowners’ Association, whose 350 members work to preserve the character of their neighbourhood, has sent a letter to Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan asking him to review approval by the Canada Energy Regulator that allowed the company to build the valve compound at its current location.   Read the article……………………………..

A couple living in a North Vancouver condo say their strata is letting harassment and discrimination go unchecked after they were told this year to remove a rainbow doormat and rainbow flag, or face fines.  Read the article……………………………

Q: Our 78-unit townhouse complex in the Interior renewed its policy in November with no claims for the last five years, and our deductible went to $100,000, and our policy has gone from $55,000 a year to $129,000.  In October, our broker told us that this was beyond their control with the hard market and the […]

Ontario’s auditor general is raising concern about the inspection regime covering retirement homes, fare refunds for GO train users and consumer protection for condo owners.  Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk’s annual report, released Monday, includes value-for-money audits of 13 government programs and agencies, inlcuding Metrolinx, the Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority, and the agencies overseeing the condominium […]

Question: I live in a condominium complex for people over the age of 55. The board neglected to notify owners of a change in the insurance company and deductible. The new insurance certificate was not provided to owners. Further, the board changed management companies with no notification to owners. We found out about the change […]

Dear Tony:  I am the acting treasurer for our strata corporation in the Fraser Valley and took over a year ago. In the process of setting up a series of maintenance contracts that we use to approve monthly expenses, I discovered a payable over the previous five years — from 2013 to 2018 — for […]

She had been listing the three-bedroom unit as a hostel that could sleep 15 people through several online platforms, prompting numerous complaints from neighbours. Short-term rentals were allegedly in violation of strata bylaws.  She was found in contempt of court in 2018, and later ordered to pay about $95,000 to the province and more than […]

Insurance companies in British Columbia have agreed to end a pricing practice that has been identified as one of the key factors in skyrocketing property insurance premiums for condominiums.  Earlier this year, the B.C. Financial Services Authority said premiums have gone up by 40 per cent on average for a number of reasons.    Read the […]

The season of giving is right around the corner.  On November 24th, the Humboldt District Hospital Foundation (HDHF) received $300 from the Augustina Condo Association. Evelyn Sarauer and Joan Hergott dropped off the donation after collecting their recycling refund.    Read the article……………………………….

The District of West Vancouver and a pair of residents are headed for court over alleged illegal renovation work that may be threatening the structural integrity of a townhouse complex at West Royal Towers.  In a court petition filed in October, Philip and Raven Garrow accuse the district of unlawfully putting a stop-work order on […]

The owner of a strata lot in a duplex that was not managed as a strata — for example, there was no strata board of directors, annual board meetings, etc. – must nevertheless pay for her half of the strata corporation’s insurance, the B.C. Civil Resolution Tribunal has found.   Read the article………………………………..

Everyone wants convenient meetings with few complications. Electronic meetings are an easy solution to ensure everyone’s voting rights are enabled, and the business of the strata corporation can be safely conducted.   Read the Q&A…………………………..