BC Supreme Court orders strata corporation to amend its Schedule of Unit Entitlement

Unit entitlement is one of the building blocks of strata-property law. Under British Columbia’s Strata Property Act, unit entitlement is “used in calculations to determine the strata lot’s share of (a) the common property and common assets, and (b) the common expenses and liabilities of the strata corporation.” Section 246 (3) of the SPA sets out a series of rules that must be followed in calculating unit entitlement for various types of strata lots. Under these rules, Read more…

Strata-lot owner held responsible to pay strata corporation’s insurance deductible in leaky-toilet case

In a case decided late last month, the Provincial Court of British Columbia (Small Claims) has held a strata-lot owner responsible to pay the strata corporation’s insurance deductible. The case is the latest example of how courts are handling the legal issues that arise when strata-property law and insurance law intersect. Strata Plan VR360 v Jauhar, 2016 BCPC 238, involved water damage apparently resulting from an overflowing toilet. The claimant was the strata corporation; the Read more…

New South Wales: New strata-property legislation in force 30 November 2016

NSW Fair Trading has announced that New South Wales will have new strata-property legislation coming into force on 30 November 2016. The legislation will herald “a new era for strata” in New South Wales. The new legislation consists of two statutes called the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 and the Strata Schemes Development Act 2015. NSW Fair Trading notes that these acts include the following “key changes”: strengthening the accountability of strata managers; allowing owners to adopt modern technology to Read more…

Law Reform Commission of Saskatchewan Issues Consultation Paper on The Homesteads Act, 1989

The Law Reform Commission of Saskatchewan recently issued a consultation paper on The Homesteads Act, 1989. The Act protects spouses who do not own their homes against the sale, mortgaging, or other disposition of the spousal home without their prior written consent. The Commission explains the difference between family property rights and rights under homestead legislation in this way: Although the non-owning spouses in these relationships have rights under family property legislation, homestead legislation provides Read more…

BC Court of Appeal clarifies interpretation of Strata Property Act’s rental-restriction rules

In Mathews v The Owners, Strata Plan VR 90, 2016 BCCA 345, the Court of Appeal for British Columbia clarified the requirements of the rental-restriction rules found in section 141 of the Strata Property Act. Previous decisions had agreed that section 141 (3) requires a strata corporation to have a procedure that must be followed in deciding whether an owner will be allowed to rent out a strata lot. But the cases had disagreed on whether Read more…