The B.C. government announced today (Jan. 24) that it is implementing changes to strata regulations to better protect strata owners, and mitigate the high cost of strata insurance.  The amendments to the Strata Property Act are designed to eliminate confusion and clean-up or correct areas of contention, Tony Gioventu, executive director of the Condominium Home […]

Amendments to the minimum amount developers and strata corporations must contribute to contingency reserve funds will help protect owners in the small number of stratas that are neglecting maintenance needs and risking higher insurance costs.  Read the article………………………..

An emergency meeting is being held tomorrow for unit owners of the Brookfield Estates Condo Corporation.  Notification of the meeting was sent out late last week indicating that condo fees are being increased.  Unit owners are being provided with two options to cover an “unforeseen” and “extreme” increase in insurance premiums from $54,000 (before taxes) […]

Campbell River condominium residents who were evacuated due to two landslides this past week are being allowed to return home.  A massive gash in the hillside behind their homes remains, showing where Tuesday night’s landslides carried water-­saturated soil, trees, and rocks in mere seconds to the bottom of the bank into the building’s carport.   Read […]

What is your definition of “family”?  That was the crux of a petty legal battle in which a strata council in Victoria went to court to stop a woman from living with her boyfriend after fining her repeatedly.   Read the article………………………..

The developer of 1111 Atwater, a 38-storey condo and rental tower under construction in downtown Montreal, is offering its clients luxury, but it’s giving the neighbours in the highrise condo next door a 24/7 racket.    Read the article………………………..

Dear Tony: Our building of 88 units passed a 55-and-over bylaw the first week of January. It has not been filed yet and our strata council has some questions about the application of the bylaw because we had two units that sold last week, and neither of the buyers are over 55 and they intend […]

Question: I live in a condominium complex made up of townhouses and an apartment style building which has 14 storeys. I live in a townhouse unit. Each month I pay my condo fees. My condo fees have increased significantly over the past couple of years because we are spending a lot of money on the […]

Alberta condominium owners’ groups are calling on the government to quickly retool its electricity rebate, and are pushing the issue before the May general election.   Read the article………………………..

Upper Gage-Rymal Road are was experiencing water bills in the $6,000 per month range throughout 2021, but starting in January 2022 the bills started rising and steadily increased, zooming past $26,000 per month by October 2022 when the major leak was detected and repaired. After the repair the water bill fell back to around $4,000 […]

As condominium living becomes more of a reality for those living in urban areas, a recent Ontario Condominium Authority Tribunal ruling emphasizes that both sides in any complaint over noise from one unit disturbing those living in other units must try to solve their disputes with mutual respect.    Read the article………………………..

A landslide in Campbell River has forced residents of two condo buildings from their homes Tuesday night.  Both buildings were evacuated as a precautionary measure and residents have been advised to stay away. The city did not confirm whether the buildings sustained damage in a news release issued late Tuesday night.   Read the article………………………..

Vaughan mayor Steven Del Duca says council will submit a joint proposal to create a memorial in honour of the victims killed in a targeted condominium shooting.   Read the article………………………..

Ontario’s leading condo associations are calling on the provincial government and industry regulators to reform legislation and create better resources for safer condo communities in light of the events at Bellaria Residences in Vaughan this past December,   Read the article………………………..

After the provincial government took away much of the legal authority of strata councils to impose rental restrictions, in November, unintended consequences are starting to pop up and affect a wide range of B.C. residents.  Read the article………………………..

More than two years after a huge fire tore through a Langley condo building, residents say they’re growing increasingly frustrated as not only are they still not able to return home, the return date keeps getting pushed back due to a string of construction delays. Travis Prasad reports.  Read the article………………………..

Dear Tony: I am new to my strata council, and at our first meeting our property manager gave us a list of amounts outstanding with a request for instructions on how to proceed with collections.   Read the Q&A……………………………….

Community members have stepped up to help find a temporary home for a quadriplegic Langford man trapped in his condo for weeks due to a broken elevator.  Nealy, who uses an electric mobility device, has been trapped in his condo since Dec. 23 when water damage caused the building’s elevator to stop working.   Read the […]

THE BC Liberals on Wednesday said that as B.C. strata councils grapple with the chaos created by Premier David Eby’s botched strata legislation, Eby has recently called a loophole limiting housing options for young people and families “good news.”   Read the article………………………..

Q: I am new to my strata council, and at our first meeting, our property manager gave us a list of amounts outstanding with a request for instructions on how to proceed with collections. The total is over $31,000 for an insurance deductible of $10,000 from 2018, damages to the building from 2020, and fines […]

After the Strata Property Act took effect Nov. 24, some strata councils took a “knee jerk reaction right out of the gate” and began the process of switching to 55-plus buildings, said Victoria realtor Tony Zarsadias.   Read the article………………………..

On the night of Dec. 23, the elevator inside Nealy’s Langford condo stopped working after water pipes in his building froze, then burst. It’s now 20 days later, the elevator hasn’t been fixed and he still can’t leave his home.   Read the article………………………..

Dear Tony: Can a strata corporation be held responsible for repairs to a strata lot when there is damages caused as a result of negligence? Our strata council decided to be misers with our expenses this fall and did not have the routine gutter, roof and drain cleaning performed.    Read the Q&A……………………………….

A B.C. Civil Resolution Tribunal has ruled that a woman’s live-in companion meets a strata’s bylaw definition of “family” and ordered them to stop enforcing the rule.  The strata claimed owner Alison Pennie violated a bylaw allowing a guest to stay for no more than 31 days in a calendar year.  Read the article………………………..

Q: Our strata council has proposed that we adopt a 55-and-over bylaw for all residents at our December 29 AGM. The reason is to limit the potential age of renters and avoid children in our building, as our current bylaw is 19 and over.   Read the Q&A……………………………….

Residents of a Langley condominium complex say they’re still waiting for answers as to what exactly caused a collapse at a construction site beside their building, that temporarily forced them out and cut their power on Christmas Day.   Read the article………………………..

The Civil Resolution Tribunal rules the strata at a Brentwood condo tower was ‘negligent’ because it didn’t clean its drain pipes on ‘a reasonable basis.’   Read the article………………………..

Cigarette smoke may have bothered other residents but strata needed to give resident a hearing before levying $1K in fines.   Read the article………………………..

To win her case before civil resolution tribunal, the owner had to prove the blockage to the pipe was part of the strata’s common property.  Read the article………………………..

More than 100 residents of one of the buildings at Creekside Estate Villas in Kelowna have been without hot water for a week now, and it could be the middle of February before the issue is fixed.  Read the article………………………..

People living in a condo complex in Langley have been forced from their homes after a retaining wall beside the building began to cave in on Sunday.  The incident happened just before noon at a building on Michaud Crescent.   Read the article………………………..

A B.C. strata that imposed a bylaw that directly targeted one owner has had the bylaw scrapped by the B.C. Supreme Court after a judge ruled it was “significantly unfair.”  B.C. Supreme Court Justice Dev Dley called the bylaw “unwieldy” and “unworkable” and that it purposely targeted Murray and Christine Hall.    Read the article………………………..

Dear Tony: Our strata council has proposed a 55-and-over bylaw for all residents, at our annual general meeting on Dec. 29.  The reason is to limit the potential age of renters and avoid children in our building as our current bylaw is 19 and over.   Read the Q&A……………………………….

The 73-year-old man implicated in a mass shooting that left six people dead (shooter included) at a condo building in Vaughan, Ontario, on Sunday night had recently attempted to sue six people involved in the management of his residence, court documents show. Read the article………………………..

While police have remained tight-lipped about the active and ongoing investigation, information emerging suggests that Villi was suffering from chronic obstructive lung disease and had made multiple pleas to his condo board to rectify building issues regarding dust and other irritants.   Read the article………………………..

A Burnaby condo owner will have to fix water damage inside his suite himself, but his strata has been ordered to repair the building’s exterior walls to stop them from leaking into his unit.  Read the article………………………..

Dear Tony: Our strata council are proposing we adopt a 55-and- over bylaw for all residents, at our annual general meeting on Dec. 29.  The reason is to limit the potential age of renters and avoid children in our building as our current bylaw is 19-and-over. As a resident in the building who is 34 […]

A B.C. woman who faced $14,000 in fines for renting out her Burnaby condo for short-term accommodations has had her bill cleared by the province’s Civil Resolution Tribunal.  Read the article………………………..

Question: I am the president of a low-rise apartment style condominium complex. We have 18 units in our complex. More than half of the units are rented out. The board wants to make renting units impossible or difficult. My questions are: 1. Can we pass a bylaw that makes it illegal to rent your unit?  […]

Two strata owners have won a B.C. Civil Resolution Tribunal battle against their strata, which charged them $1,682 for a leaky shower.  According to the Dec. 8 decision from tribunal member Micah Carmody, in July 2019, the strata’s contractor traced a parkade water leak to Ying Dong Xu and Tien Hua’s shower. (At the time, […]