The dangers of being a property leaseholder combined with an affordable housing crisis are creating a perfect storm for dozens of residents at a modest condo development in Richmond.  Many of the seniors and lower-income families at 6420 Buswell St. fear they may soon be on the street if they can’t come up with the […]

The province is seeking your input on 2 very important (and related) matters: Better regulating nuisance, annoyance and disruption in condos; Expanding the Condo Authority Tribunal’s authority to deal with disputes related to these. Your views and comments on these important changes must be sent in before January 31, 2020.    Read the article…………………………….

A woman says she walked away from her Fort McMurray condo after skyrocketing insurance costs became “the final straw” in her battle to keep the home.  Kaleena Carriere, 31, bought her townhouse-style condo in April 2014. It was her first home. Now the bank owns it and the locks have been changed.  In September of […]

Dear Tony: I am on the first strata council of a new building in metro Vancouver and we are having some challenges trying to determine our obligations.  We have a management company that is helping us set up the operations, but we don’t have any type of master plan of operations.    Read the Q&A……………………….

A couple living at the Pointe strata complex in West Kelowna are disappointed they aren’t allowed to temporarily home a 56-year-old single mother, who will find herself homeless this January.  Michal Jansa and his wife met the Indigenous woman through mutual friends, and came to learn that she had arrived in Kelowna to start over, […]

I thought it was important to highlight a bit of a “Christmas miracle” that happened recently at the Legislature. It should come as no surprise that the UCP and the NDP disagree with one another on many things. But last week, when I announced Service Alberta’s revisions to condo regulations that will come into force […]

Breaking news for anyone who has ever attempted to fill out one of the Government of Ontario’s condo forms!  The province has just announced that, as of January 1, 2020, the responsibility for 17 of the forms under the Condo Act will be delegated to the CAO, and will no longer be hosted on the […]

Over the past few months across B.C., there has been an industry struggle to renew strata-corporation insurance policies. With renewals, the cost of the insurance has increased anywhere from 50 to 300 per cent.  Read the article…………………………

Condominium boards cannot consent to police installing hidden cameras in hallways without a warrant, the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled Monday.   Read the article………………………….

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has ordered a Guelph couple to stop smoking on the balcony of the condominium they own.  The couple had refused to comply with a no-smoking rule of their building and the condominium board took them to court.    Read the article…………………………..

B.C. condo owners are bracing for sticker shock amid surging insurance rates for their homes.  “Rates are increasing for people in policies now anywhere from 50 to 300 per cent, and deductibles are going from the conventional $10,000 or $25,000 to $100,000, $250,000 or $500,000,” said Tony Gioventu, executive director of the Condominium Home Owners […]

Q: Is a condominium rule that requires building occupants to carry pets over common elements, enforceable against a resident with a doctor’s note advising against aggravating a back condition?    Read the Q&A…………………………..

For condo Owners who aren’t aware, advocates over the past several years have been pushing the Alberta government to amend present Condo Regulations to enhance consumer protection in order to swing the balance of scales/power between Condo Boards and Owners and create an equal playing field for both parties. It is/was argued by advocates that […]

Fine limits, insurance requirements and flexible borrowing rules are among new condominium regulations that will take effect in the new year.    Read the article………………………..

The provincial government has heard about Alberta condo owners facing big increases on their insurance rates, but at this time, is not considering a cap.  Officials were asked about the issue on Wednesday, at an event announcing changes to condo regulations.    Read the article……………………..

Dear Tony: Is there anything in the Strata Act or legislation that requires a strata council to get three bids for projects of a certain value?  Our strata council is negotiating with a contractor to replace our siding and decks, and several owners are raising concerns about the price and reputation of the contractor.    Read […]

Ottawa firefighters evacuated people from 53 units of a condominium building on St. Denis Street in Vanier early Friday morning after carbon monoxide spread through the building, apparently from the boiler room.   Read the article……………………….

Insurance premiums at some Alberta condominiums have gone up dramatically in the last year, prompting concern from condo owners who have to pick up the tab on the bills.    Read the article…………………………

Dear Tony: Our strata corporation renewed our policy in October and, as a result of a number of minor claims in the past three years, our water deductible has been increased to $100,000.   Read the Q&A……………………………

Buyers in the cancelled Icona condos are asking a court to find that developer Gupta Group breached its contract by failing to disclose that its Vaughan property was subject to a legal condition prohibiting it from selling homes on that piece of land.   Read the article………………………..

Dear Tony: Our strata corporation renewed its insurance policy in October. Our deductible was increased to $100,000 from $25,000 and our policy premiums increased to $121,000 from $69,000.  The cost increase will result in an eight per cent increase in our annual budget without any other increases, but we are most concerned about the deductible […]

Residents of Barrhaven’s Stonebridge neighbourhood have voted by a two-thirds margin in favour of investing in the preservation of their local golf course.   Read the article………………………..

The Alberta government has prioritized funds to review what it considers “ongoing dysfunction” in the province’s real estate industry, as announced in its recently released budget.    Read the article………………………..

A Calgary condominium complex had to be evacuated when an ice-blocked fresh air intake caused a buildup of deadly carbon monoxide gas.  Fire officials say CO alarms sounded in the four-storey development in the city’s northwest around 7 a.m. Wednesday.    Read the article………………..

An elderly Etobicoke couple says they’re being victimized by their condominium townhouse complex’s board of directors, which is forcing them to tear up the gardens they’ve tended for 25 years.  Mira and Dimitri Ristic have lived at 2-3 Bradbrook Rd. for 45 years, according to their daughter Jelena, but they’d never had a major disagreement […]

B.C. condo boards have the right to ban to Airbnb rentals, the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal has ruled, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.   Read the article……………………….

Dear Tony: As president of our strata, I am trying to prevent our strata council from taking a position that I am certain will result in either a complaint with the Civil Resolution Tribunal or a human rights complaint.  There are two townhomes for sale in our Maple Ridge complex, and in one of the […]

Condo owners in east end development Essex Condo Corp. 3 on Vine Court are frustrated with Cogeco over cables that have been left strung through trees and across backyards for almost a year.  “This is just completely unacceptable,” said resident Greg Duguay, who has been fighting with the company since cables were left unburied since […]

Ontario homebuilder regulator Tarion is adding a new form to pre-construction condo purchase agreements that it says will help alert consumers to the risk that a project may never be completed.    Read the article……………………….

When cracks began appearing all over his West End condo early this year, Wayne Morrissey didn’t understand what was going on – until a neighbour told him the owner of the identical condo directly below his had removed several walls.  Read the article…………………………..

Dear Tony: We have run into a problem with our strata council executive. At our annual meeting, we elected the president and the treasurer so the owners would have input into the positions.  Our president has just sold his strata lot and now we have no president and there is a dispute in our strata […]

Murray Obrand loves to barbecue.  He loves barbecue so much that cold weather doesn’t stop him from indulging in this treat.  In order to barbecue all year round, Obrand erected a heated gazebo outside his strata property.   That’s when he ran into some bit of trouble.  A neighbour complained to the strata corporation, and Obrand […]

Many homebuyers who purchase a condo don’t realize until near closing on the deal that a condo board exists and operates in their potential new home.  So what exactly are condo boards and their function?    Read the article………………………..

Dear Tony: Several years ago, our strata corporation adopted a bylaw requiring owners to provide payments by automatic bank withdrawal.   At the time, several owners raised concerns about the strata corporation having access to their bank accounts, but were assured it was only for strata fees and nothing else. To make this simple, I opened […]

After the 2016 Horse River wildfire that burned down more than 2,400 structures in Fort McMurray, residents of the 40-unit Winchester Greens condominium building considered themselves among the lucky ones.  Their apartment-style units didn’t burn, but the condo board did claim $246,000 of smoke damage on its insurance.  Three years later, the condo board is […]

Verna Marzo can’t open the doors to her Calgary condo building without help from her care worker, sister, or willing neighbours. The condo board has plans for new doors, but not for a push-button system.    Read the article………………………

A Fraser valley senior facing an enormous condo levy fears she could be forced from her home if she can’t come up with the money.  86-year-old Mabel Olscamp has been living at Dogwood Manor in central Abbotsford for 26 years.  In June, the building’s strata council voted to move ahead with a $1.4-million project to […]

Dear Tony: I live in a condo apartment building that was completed in 1995. We have 48 units in our building on eight floors.   Our family has lived in the building since Day One, but our community is rapidly aging and we find ourselves facing some new challenges.   Read the article………………………….