Quarterly update for the Strata Property Law Project

During the period from July to September 2017 the Strata Property Law Project—Phase Two saw continued progress on the committee’s review of selected governance issues. There also continued to be interest in completed committee work. Progress on selected governance issues The committee held three meetings in the period in the quarter. The bulk of the time at these meeting was spent considering governance issues for stratas. “Governance” is potentially a huge topic, so the committee has Read more…

Mental Capacity, Consent, and Guardianship in BC and Canada: Get your Legal Update at the 2017 Canadian Elder Law Conference

Does your practice deal with mental capacity, consent or guardianship? If so, this year’s elder law conference is shaping up to be the event of the season for getting your update on the law. For some of you, consent and capacity are intrinsic to the bulk of your work. If you prepare powers of attorney, wills, trusts or representation agreements you need to be sure your client has the cognitive ability to understand the relevant Read more…

Incomplete interest schedule foils strata’s bid for termination

Re The Owners, Strata Plan VR 1966, 2017 BCSC 1661, was, as the court noted, the first contested case to consider the recently amended procedure to cancel a strata plan and wind up a strata corporation. The case illustrates the importance of strict compliance with the Strata Property Act’s requirements for employing this procedure. The case involved a strata corporation consisting of “a three-story, wood-frame building containing 36 strata lots and associated common property,” located in the Read more…

CRT Roundup—use and alteration of common property, unauthorized spending, and more

This post is part of a monthly series summarizing the Civil Resolution Tribunal’s strata-property decisions. There have been 19 new decisions since the last post. Bylaws—rental and pet restrictions—Airbnb The Owners, Strata Plan VR812 v Yu, 2017 BCCRT 82 concerned the enforcement of the applicant strata corporation’s rental-restriction and pet bylaws. The strata corporation alleged that the respondent strata-lot owner had operated her strata lot “as an Airbnb unit” and had carried on a pet-sitting business from the Read more…

Final Reflections on My Summer with BCLI and CCEL

As I wrap up some of the final items on my task list today, I’ve been reflecting on my summer and how much I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to work with the BCLI and CCEL team. My initial thought: “what a terrific opportunity this has been for me!” I’ve always been interested in law reform. I often think, “how does this law really affect people? How does that law operate on the ground?” This summer, I Read more…