BC Supreme Court finds strata-lot owners in contempt of court order, orders eviction and sale of their strata lot

Section 173 of the Strata Property Act gives the BC Supreme Court wide powers to order compliance with the act and a strata corporation’s bylaws and rules. In The Owners, Strata Plan LMS 2768 v Jordison, 2013 BCCA 484, the court of appeal concluded that these powers include the power to evict a strata-lot owner and order the forced sale of the owner’s strata lot. The Owners, Strata Plan NW 1245 v Linden, 2017 BCSC 852, is Read more…

First Impressions of BCLI and CCEL

My first week with BCLI and CCEL as their Summer Legal Research Student was a whirlwind of consultations, focus group meetings, and BCLI’s 20th anniversary event. It is only my second week with BCLI and CCEL, but I can already tell that I am going to enjoy my summer! My very first impression of BCLI and CCEL was how friendly and supportive the staff are. The BCLI/CCEL team is a group of very passionate people Read more…

BC Court of Appeal: Classification of strata lots as residential must be determined “at or around the inception of the development”

In East Barriere Resort Ltd v The Owners, Strata Plan KAS1819, 2017 BCCA 183, the Court of Appeal for British Columbia allowed an appeal from a decision of a chambers judge in a case concerning the interpretation of the expression “residential strata lots” in section 128 of the Strata Property Act. As the court of appeal put it, “the essential position of the parties can be contrasted in this way: the petitioners would look to the ‘design Read more…

Court finds strata-lot owners suffered “no prejudice” from arbitrators’ failure to advise them of the possibility of a mediated settlement

Hunt v The Owners, Strata Plan LMS 2556, 2017 BCSC 786, is the latest chapter in a dispute involving the proposed installation of a heating, air-conditioning, and ventilation system on a strata’s limited-common-property balcony. Although the HVAC system was never actually installed, the prospect of its approval by the strata council drove neighboring strata-lot owners to commence an arbitration proceeding against the strata corporation under part 10 of the Strata Property Act. This led to a Read more…

BC Supreme Court considers first application to appeal CRT decision

There is no automatic right to appeal a decision in a strata-property case by the Civil Resolution Tribunal. If a party disagrees with the CRT’s decision, the party may only appeal to the supreme court if all the other parties consent or if the court grants leave to appeal. Appeals are only allowed on a “question of law arising out of the decision” and, in considering applications for leave, the legislation invites the court to bear Read more…