Strata corporation obtains order that owner cease and desist from smoking in strata lot

The British Columbia Supreme Court has had occasion to rule on another case involving smoking in a strata lot. In The Owners, Strata Plan NW 1815 v Aradi, 2016 BCSC 105 the court granted a strata corporation an order under section 173 of the Strata Property Act that an owner refrain from contravening the strata corporation’s no-smoking bylaw—by ceasing to smoke within his own strata lot. Facts and issues The case involved a petitioner strata corporation and Read more…

BC Supreme Court upholds enhanced charges for defined support services in strata property catering to seniors

In its recently released decision in The Owners, Strata Plan VIS4686 v Craig, 2016 BCSC 90, the BC Supreme Court examines the intersection of strata-property rules on common expenses and for-profit supportive housing for older adults. The court granted the petitioner strata corporation a declaration under section 171 (1) (a) of the Strata Property Act, affirming the validity of its bylaws relating to a detailed set of support services, even though there were some concerns about Read more…

Strata corporation’s liens discharged for lack of proper notice

In a case decided late last year, the BC Supreme Court considered the interplay of two provisions in the Strata Property Act: section 116, which authorizes a strata corporation to register a lien against a strata lot if its owner has failed to make certain listed payments to a strata corporation, and section 61, which describes how a strata corporation is to give notice under the act. The Owners, Strata Plan BCS 3372 v Manji, Read more…

New rules for strata corporations on guide and service dogs in force today

British Columbia’s Guide and Service Dog Act comes into force today, bringing with it some new rules for strata corporations. The act contains a consequential amendment to the Strata Property Act, which provides that a “bylaw that prohibits a pet or other animal or that restricts the access of a pet or other animal to a strata lot or common property does not apply to a guide dog or service dog, or a dog that Read more…

BC Supreme Court releases judgment in long-running commercial-strata dispute

The Supreme Court of British Columbia has just released its trial judgment in The Owners, Strata Plan LMS 3259 v Sze Hang Holding Inc, 2016 BCSC 32, marking the latest chapter in a dispute that stretches back to 2001 and that has already generated two decisions from the court of appeal— The Owners, Strata Plan LMS 3259 v Sze Hang Holding Inc, 2012 BCCA 196 and Extra Gift Exchange Inc v The Owners, Strata Plan LMS3259, 2014 Read more…