A mixed bag of condo issues

B.C. man allowed to keep Inflatable hot tub on patio, tribunal rules

CTVNews (abridged)
Lisa Steacy
15 November 2022
A B.C. man is allowed to keep an "inflatable spa" on his patio after a provincial tribunal found his strata had no authority to order him to remove it.

A ruling in favour of condo-owner Alejandro Jose Noriega was posted online by B.C.'s Civil Resolution Tribunal Friday. It found the spa, which the strata characterized as a "hot tub," was not prohibited by the bylaws.

"The spa is patio furniture, I find the bylaws expressly permit Mr. Noriega to have it on the patio," the ruling reads.

"In the absence of a bylaw contravention, I find the strata has no authority to require Mr. Noriega to remove the spa."

However, the decision also points to the possibility that the victory – and the spa's tenure on the patio – may only be temporary.

"Nothing in this decision prevents the strata from amending its bylaws to specifically prohibit inflatable or permanent spas," Stewart wrote.

NYC landlords must post FDNY safety bulletin warning of e-bike battery fires

New York Post (abridged)
By Carl Campanile and Bernadette Hogan
27 November 27 2022

City landlords will be required to post an FDNY safety guide warning apartment dwellers about fires caused by e-bike batteries that have killed six people so far this year, The Post has learned.

The fire department published the emergency safety bulletin to help prevent the deadly blazes, as New Yorkers buy up popular electronic bikes, scooters and hoverboards during the Christmas shopping season.

There have been at least 140 fires tied to the devices in New York City in 2022, with 140 injured and six people killed in the blazes — including one in August that trapped a young girl inside an East Harlem apartment, officials said.

An 8-year-old girl was killed in Queens the following month in a fire sparked by a lithium battery from her sibling’s new electric scooter.

E-bikes and other lithium-ion battery-powered mobility devices have become all the rage. But many people store and charge e-bike batteries in their apartment, which “present serious fire safety hazards,” officials said.

More tenant problems

Below are four news stories where tenants have stopped paying the rent. In one case an owner can’t move into his house, while in Collingwood, a different owner is sleeping in his car.

A tenant in BC destroys a house when he is evicted and a family in Brampton is living in his basement because his upstairs tenants stopped paying the rent.

After this, I am going to stop publishing articles about deadbeat tenants because there are so many of them.

Man wants to move into his London, Ont., home, but tenant won't leave or pay $15K in back rent

CBC News (abridged)
Isha Bhargava
21 November 2022

A London, Ont., man says he's $20,000 in debt and suffering extreme stress due to seven months of unpaid rent and legal fees spent trying to evict a tenant. 

Parvinder Singh, 26, said he can't move into his own home because his tenant won't adhere to the mutually agreed-upon date to vacate the property. With no response from the Landlord Tenant Board (LTB) on a hearing date, Singh said he's at his wits' end.

"I can't be in debt just to pay my mortgage," he said. "I'm a simple 9 to 5 working guy and all I want is just to get into my house."

Singh bought the home in the city's north end in 2020, and rented it out while awaiting a job transfer from his employer in Brampton. The initial lease was for six months, but Singh said he and the tenant then agreed to a month-to-month lease when the transfer didn't materialize. 

The tenant initially kept up with his monthly payments of $2,236, Singh said. He even signed an N11 notice (an agreement to end tenancy), which CBC News has seen, confirming he would move out by April 30.

But in February, Singh said the tenant stopped responding to his calls and messages. That's when he said he presented the tenant with an N12 notice (which notifies about the intention for the landord or a relative move in), giving him 60 days to move. 

I was there with my family and all my stuff to move into my house

"After that, there was no communication. So April 30 comes, and I was there with my family and all my stuff to move into my house, and he didn't open up any doors," Singh said. That's also when the rent payments stopped. 

he must pay $20,000 and the tenant will leave

A few days later, Singh said, he returned to the house and was told by the tenant's friend that he must pay $20,000 and the tenant will leave. 

"I was shocked," Singh said. "I cried in front of him. I even offered $7,000 for two months' rent or help him move, anyway I can assist him to move out of my house, but he didn't agree on anything." 

Man sleeping in his car says tenants owe more than $31K, won't leave his rental property

CBC News (abridged)
Erica Johnson
07 November 2022

Just last year, Marco had two houses to his name, but for months has been sleeping in his car — all because his tenants, whom he's been unable to evict, haven't paid their rent. 

Marco, 33, lost his marital home in a separation agreement in January. He still owns an income property — a two-suite house in Collingwood, Ont. — but says his upstairs tenant hasn't paid up since June; the one downstairs hasn't since February. 

"I'm covering all housing expenses, the mortgage and property taxes and can't afford to rent in the terrible financial situation I'm in," he said. "I'm drowning in debt."

BC tenant goodbye gesture: damages the house

Elsewhere, in Abbotsford, B.C., a tenant refused to pay rent for most of 2021 and the first half of 2022. When he was finally ordered evicted, he demolished the inside of the house, cutting support beams in the roof, tearing off drywall and tossing about insulation. 

"I've never seen anything like it," said realtor Morgen Yuan, who told the offshore homeowner that he would check in on the property. 

Yuan says police told him no charges would be laid, because tenancy issues fall outside police jurisdiction. 

Owners live in Brampton basement

In Brampton, Ont., Hasan Khan, his wife and their one-year-old are sleeping on a single mattress in the basement of their own house, because a couple renting the main floor with their adult son refuse to leave. The Khans rented the space while they were in India for six months. 

The last time the tenants made a full rent payment of $2,400 was in December. Then they made partial payments, and in May stopped altogether. 

The Khans are stuck paying housing costs, so they can't afford another place for themselves. 

They also can't afford to do much of anything, he says. The family spent most of the summer in the backyard and drove to Toronto's Pearson airport a couple of times to sit and watch airplanes take off and land. 

"We do things where we don't have to spend money," said Khan. "I feel bad for the kids and how my wife feels."

It's been six months since he complained to the LTB, which rejected a request that his case be expedited, saying Khan failed to prove he was experiencing "significant financial hardship."

"[The tenants] laugh when I threaten to go for eviction," he said. "It looks like they are very aware of the loopholes."

Rental Restrictions Abolished in BC

The BC government has passed legislation to remove all rental restrictions in strata buildings across the province.

This should add some much needed rental supply. According to Rentals.ca, apartment rents in BC are up 15.1% from last year.

Owners in strata buildings that previously restricted rentals have just received a free boast in home values. Buildings that restricted rentals always traded at a discount.

However, not everyone is pleased:

B.C. strata changes open door to condo speculators, experts say

Western Investor
Graeme Wood, Glacier Media, and Frank O'Brien, Western Investor
23 November 2022

B.C. NDP government is removing rental restrictions in residential stratas, which will increase investor interest and the insurance needed by strata groups, critics argue.

Gioventu says rental restrictions provide a buffer against “predatory investors” seeking to control strata wind-up votes and thereafter suppress land valuations for the purpose of redeveloping.

“Where rental bylaws exist, developer/buyers generally avoid these tactics as they are left holding property from which they cannot generate any revenue,” he noted.

Meanwhile, Gioventu says there are a suite of other unintended consequences facing stratas now that they cannot restrict rentals.

Smaller strata councils will especially have a greater burden of tenant management, he said, because off-site investors rarely support increase strata fees or special levies or participate in property operations.

“We will now be downloading the unfair work load of managing tenants on the volunteers we charge with the statutory obligations of property operations under the Strata Property Act,” stated Gioventu.

Status Certificate

Another great story – Banks won’t lend if there is another loan, that too is the reality here. People can buy with all cash, which is easy for people moving from their million dollar homes to the ½ million dollar condo, and when the banks won’t lend they blame CMHC.

Those insured first time buyers are the ones that push the prices up since all those expensive stainless appliances can be hidden in a mortgage.
—R. Brampton

You definitely do not want to buy into that building. 

How are legal fees allowed to be withdrawn from the reserve fund?  The reserve fund is for the physical repair and replacement of components of a building, and legal fees are not doing this.  Do you ever see legal fees as a listed item in a reserve fund study. 

Also, why is the Board legally going after the owners that requisitioned a meeting?  Are they trying to hide something, and do not want anyone to see what is really happening? 

Also, if you cannot rely on the audit, who is approving the expenditures for the building?  I would have thought there would be a note/comment from the auditor about the legal fees being paid from the reserve fund.  Also, they state the Corporation may cease to continue - why would you buy a condo there? 

They could have handled this much differently but it appears the Board has to continue to keep justifying the decisions they have made no matter the costs or stupidity.  This building is definitely a train wreck.   
—Ontario Licensed Condominium Manager
Toronto

Quite a thorough and enlightening report Holland. 

Like you, I have moved. I no longer live in a condo. I am at a non-profit retirement residence.

Good to hear from you again.
—Dick