BC Human Rights Tribunal considers application of new service-dog law to strata bylaws, dismisses complaint alleging discrimination in accommodation based on a disability

In an application decided in late July, the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal had to consider the intersection of strata bylaws, the Human Rights Code, and the new Guide Dog and Service Dog Act. The tribunal dismissed a complaint of discrimination on the basis of disability, which had its foundation in a strata corporation’s enforcement of its pet bylaw. Facts and issues BH obo CH v Creekside Estates Strata KAS1707 and another, 2016 BCHRT 100, Read more…

What is a residential strata lot?

In a somewhat circular definition, the Strata Property Act defines “residential strata lot” to mean “a strata lot designed or intended to be used primarily as a residence.” The Supreme Court of British Columbia recently considered this definition in ruling on a dispute over a strata corporation’s “governance of a phased strata development that is located at the west end of East Barriere Lake.” East Barriere Resort Ltd v The Owners, Strata Plan KAS1819, 2016 BCSC Read more…

BCLI holds AGM, elects new officers

The British Columbia Law Institute held its annual general meeting on Wednesday, August 31, 2016 and elected its officers for the coming year: Chair: Lisa A. Peters Vice Chair: Thomas L. Spraggs Treasurer: Professor Joost Blom, Q.C. Secretary: Kevin Zakreski “I wish to thank Professor Joost Blom, Q.C. for his service to the BCLI as both Vice-Chair, and Chair of our Board. I look forward to continuing to work with him as Treasurer in the Read more…

BCLI opens public consultation on complex stratas

With the publication today of its Consultation Paper on Complex Stratas, the British Columbia Law Institute’s Strata Property Law Project Committee is asking the public for its views on proposed reforms to the Strata Property Act and the Strata Property Regulation concerning sections, types, and phases. “Sections and types allow a strata corporation to manage cost sharing between groups of owners, while phases permit the development of a strata property in segments over an extended Read more…

Ontario Court of Appeal: Business judgment rule applies to condo board decisions

In a decision released yesterday, Ontario’s top court has made it clear that decisions taken by a condominium’s board of directors (what in British Columbia is called a strata council) are covered by the business judgment rule. “This rule,” as the court defines it, “recognizes the autonomy and integrity of corporations, and the fact that directors and officers are in a far better position to make decisions affecting their corporations than a court reviewing a Read more…