BC Supreme Court appoints administrator, orders special levy aimed at remedying “quintessential leaky condo”

In a recent decision, the Supreme Court of British Columbia appointed an administrator for a strata corporation under section 174 of the Strata Property Act and ordered a special levy to a maximum amount of $16 827 000 under section 165 of the act. Santos v The Owners, Strata Plan LMS 1509, 2016 BCSC 1775, involved “a large 250-unit residential strata complex” located in east Vancouver and made up of 11 buildings: “four mid-sized four storey buildings (buildings A, B, Read more…

New BC Franchises Act and regulations in force on 1 February 2017

The Franchises Act and regulations will come into force on 1 February 2017, according to an announcement today by the Ministry of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction .  The Act was passed in 2015 following a BCLI report that recommended BC enact franchise legislation similar to that already in force in Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick and PEI.  The Franchises Act provides important protections for BC-based franchisees and prospective buyers of franchises, and benefits Read more…

Strata corporation ordered to pay damages for failure to repair and maintain common property

In Hill v The Owners, Strata Plan KAS 510, 2016 BCSC 1753, the BC Supreme Court found that a strata corporation had acted in a significantly unfair manner toward a strata-lot owner. The strata corporation had found itself in a catch-22 when structural defects in the strata-property’s foundation caused warping to the floor of a strata lot’s basement and it could not obtain the approval of its owners to comply with its duty under section 72 of Read more…

BC Human Rights Tribunal finds strata corporation discriminated against owner in handling smoking complaints, offers advice to stratas on how to deal with requests for accommodation related to second-hand smoke

In a decision released late last month, the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal offered some guidance to strata corporations and strata-lot owners in handling requests for accommodation due to second-hand smoke. Leary v Strata Plan VR1001, 2016 BCHRT 139, involved a complaint that a strata corporation was discriminating against a strata-lot owner in accommodation, service, and facility, contrary to section 8 of the Human Rights Code. The complainant claimed “that she has a disability that makes her Read more…

Minister of national revenue and CRA open consultations on charities’ political activities

Earlier this week the minister of national revenue announced the opening of “public consultations to clarify the rules regarding the involvement of registered charities in political activities.” The first component of this consultation is an online consultation hosted by the Canada Revenue Agency. This consultation is asking for public comment in the following three broad areas: carrying out political activities: Are charities generally aware of what the rules are on political activities? What issues or challenges do Read more…