Fines

Surrey condo owner fined $800 for smoking, must pay $13,000 for strata legal fees

Vancouver Sun
Joanne Lee-Young
14 August 2022

A Surrey condo owner who fought against $800 in fines for smoking cigarettes and marijuana in his unit has to pay more than $13,000 to cover the strata’s legal fees.

The strata at a complex on 68th Avenue with 55 units took owner James Graham to the B.C. civil resolution tribunal to get him to stop smoking in his unit after there were complaints, according to a recently-posted decision.

The strata at a complex on 68th Avenue with 55 units took owner James Graham to the B.C. civil resolution tribunal to get him to stop smoking in his unit after there were complaints, according to a recently-posted decision.

I didn’t do it & you can’t prove I did

Graham denied smoking in his condo and countered that the strata did not prove he was doing so.

But the strata pointed out that in several emails in early 2021, Graham provided a doctor’s note saying he need to smoke pot for medical reasons to treat depression, anxiety, gastrointestinal disorder and pain. Later, when the strata required Graham to seal his unit and make it airtight, he replied he would not be making any repairs and that he would only smoke off the property.

Based on these emails, the tribunal determined that Graham acknowledged he was smoking in his unit.

It disagreed with Graham’s claim that the strata didn’t do “reasonable investigations” before issuing four fines, amounting to a total of $800, around mid- and late-2021.

New bylaw

A new strata bylaw at the Surrey complex that was set in September 2021 prohibits smoking or vaping tobacco, marijuana or any similar organic substance in any interior or exterior common or limited common property as well as in the units. There is an exception for anyone with a valid marijuana license or note from a medical doctor confirming the need to use marijuana at home for medical reasons, but stipulates that anyone under this allowance must not allow smoke to escape such that it can be smelled by another resident.

It was established as more strata corporations in B.C. have been implementing non-smoking bylaws, but also struggling to juggle the concerns of non-smokers against the personal freedoms of other residents.

Other cases in BC

In January 2021, a Richmond condo owner won $500 in damages from the strata after complaining to the CRT about her neighbour’s second-hand smoke and aromatherapy scents.

In March 2021, a frustrated condo-dweller in Burnaby sued the strata and a neighbour claiming that second-hand cigarette smoke was causing her health issues. In that case, the strata spent more than $20,000 in legal fees, which it didn’t get back. The tribunal didn’t rule on where the smoke was coming from, but awarded the owner $400 in damages because the strata stopped investigating.

Graham did not claim he has a valid medical marijuana license or need to consume marijuana for medical reasons, according to the tribunal.

The strata relied on a bylaw to claim its legal expenses in the amount of $13,948.74.

It said that “legal counsel’s involvement was necessary due to (Graham’s) continued disregard for the strata’s enforcement measures and repeated bylaw breaches.”

In the end, the decision ordered that Graham pay the strata $13,336.83, which includes the $800 in unpaid fines, legal expenses before and during the tribunal process, interest and fees for the CRT.

Fines illegal in Ontario

Stratas in BC can fine their owners for breaking rules and bylaws. However, in Ontario, condo corporations do not have that power.

To get around the lack of such power, condo boards may assess Chargeback Fees. This Ontario owner wrote:

“They spend more time coming up with chargeback fees than any meaningful planning and prevention. If you don’t break down your cardboard for recycling the fee is $100. If your suite door is scratched the fee is $350 to paint. It was only $140 per door to paint and add moulding to the doors when they rammed the hall renovations through.”

Is this legal. Maybe not as to me, the chargebacks seem accessive. Did the superintendent get paid an extra $100 to breakdown the cardboard? Did he get paid overtime to do so? Does the corporation have payroll records to prove that there really was a charge that the owner needs to reimburse?

I can see a lot of unnecessary hard feelings in that condo residental tower over petty “chargebacks”.

Leaky fridge leaves B.C. condo-buyer owing $100K before he moves in

CTV News Vancouver
Andrew Weichel
30 September 2022

A leaky fridge has left a B.C. condo owner on the hook for a painful $100,000 insurance deductible, despite his argument that the damage happened before he moved into the unit.

Zhicheng Shen’s new strata covered the deductible after the fridge sprung a leak in April 2021, but wanted to be reimbursed – and when Shen did not comply, the strata took him to the province's small claims tribunal.

While the B.C. Civil Resolution Tribunal normally only deals with claims of up to $5,000, there is no such limit when it comes to disputes involving strata properties.

Water from the refrigerator caused "significant damage" to neighbouring units and common property in the 29-storey building in Vancouver’s West End, tribunal vice-chair J. Garth Cambrey wrote in his decision, which was published online last week.

It's unclear how much damage the leak caused in total – the tribunal only heard that it exceeded the strata's insurance deductible.

Cambrey found the problem was likely caused by a faulty repair job, quoting an email from the strata’s plumber reporting water dripping from an “improper seal” in the freezer.

“It took me a bit of work but I managed to get it open, it was definitely not installed properly. I found the freezer full of ice and water. Looks like the ice maker was making ice and it was melting then leaking out,” the plumber wrote.

The owner hadn’t even moved in yet

While Shen hadn't moved into the unit at the time, the tribunal heard he had complained the appliance wasn't making ice and requested a repair, which was handled by a technician from the manufacturer.

"This is undisputed and aligns with Mr. Shen's emails in evidence,” Cambrey wrote.

The condo owner also argued he shouldn’t have to cover the strata's deductible because the fridge was under warranty by the building's owner-developer, who is not named in the dispute.

Cambrey disagreed, finding Shen was still responsible for the fridge's maintenance under the strata's bylaws. B.C.'s Strata Property Act allows stratas to seek repair costs associated with bylaw violations from the owners who violated them.

"It does not matter that there may have been a warranty in place," Cambrey wrote.

While the tribunal ordered Shen to reimburse the strata's $100,000 deductible, plus more than $1,100 in pre-judgment interest, Cambrey also noted nothing in his decision prevents the condo owner from "pursuing a claim against the warranty provider or appliance manufacturer."

That would have to be done in court, Cambrey said.

This is how they vote on things?  First of all, who said the fan coil units have to be replaced or the valves?  Did someone go around and check them?
 
Ontario Licensed Condominium Manager
CM & A cert. Condo Manager

There are now 3,000 condo corporations in the City of Toronto and a couple thousand more in the surrounding GTA. That means that we have about 20,000 condo directors.

Do you think most of them have any idea of how decisions need to be made?