Best way to resolve issues with the Strata Council is to make sure you have up to date bylaws and request a meeting. I serve on a Starta council and we have issues also. Most times if they are presented in writing, (which they should be), we give them consideration and response.

This case is a little different. Read on.

Dear Condo Smarts: I don't know who to turn to. I bought a condo in Vancouver in February, moved in with my dog on March 15, and March 20 began to receive threatening letters from the strata about my dog. It claims the strata has a "no pets" rule, and that I have to either get rid of my dog or move. Before I purchased, I requested information about the strata corporation, and my agent was given the strata website and password to access the minutes of the strata meetings, bylaws and rules of the strata corporation, as well as other information, including a maintenance and building report done in 2008. Absolutely nothing indicated on the website that pets were prohibited and that there was a no-pets rule. As the information we received was provided by the agent, doesn't the strata have to abide by the information that individual disclosed to a buyer? I admit that since talking to my lawyer, I should have requested a copy of a Form B Information certificate before I bought. Now what am I supposed to do? - Frankie D.

Dear Frankie: While online information may be helpful in investigating a strata corporation, it may also be seriously misleading. The blame is not entirely yours however, as the strata corporation, through its agent, provided you with access to the strata corporation's current records, and nothing was disclosed in those records at the time regarding the prohibition of pets.

You should have been advised to obtain an information certificate, and to obtain a registered copy of the bylaw amendments. Relying solely on the information posted to the website, you only viewed dated materials. Had you obtained a copy of the registered bylaws through the Land Title Registry, you would have immediately noticed that the strata amended its bylaws in December of 2009, adopting a bylaw that prohibits pets. Unfortunately, the website had not been updated since Nov. 15, 2009, so the information posted was inaccurate.

The other challenge for the strata is that while the manager provides the access-code information, the website is actually maintained by the strata council. The manager was not advised that the council has not been maintaining the website, and as of April 30, the same dated material is still posted on the site. If a website is only archived information, then it should provide dated signatures to identify the periods of information posted. If the website is active current information, it should have a "real person" or company you can contact to obtain written verification of the claims or data posted on a website.

By Tony Gioventu of CHOA, in Province May 9th, 2010

The CHOA website, for example, hosts over 600 information bulletins and articles, all of which are routinely reviewed and updated for changes in legislation, contact information, access to links, changes in case law, or regulations that impact strata corporations.

I have assisted over a 1000 buyers in purchasing strata property.
If you are thinking of buying strata property, give me a call. My services are FREE and it could save you a lot of hassle and money 

If you are looking to Buy or to Sell real estate in Vancouver area, give me a call. My consultations are FREE. The benefits to You, may be worth a lot of money.
Call Jeff Stark at 604-290-7890 or email me at jeff@jeffreystark.net

Major repairs and restorations to strata buildings are expensive propositions. Sometimes strata corporations may successfully sue a builder/developer and collect some money in return.

However all that process may take a a long time and by the time the funds are finally released to the strata corporation, years may have gone by. As an owner who had contributed to the legal expenses in going after the builder you should get a refund. But you have sold in between and are long gone.

So, what can you do? Read the following:

Dear Condo Smarts: Our strata building had major renovations over the past three years, and the project is just coming to an end.

I am moving back east and selling my unit, but the strata council has told everyone we have a refund of about seven per cent coming because of interest earned on our money during construction, rebates, and coming under budget. My closing date is in mid-April, but the refunds won' t be settled until June 1. I advised council that I would be selling and notified it to send the refund to my new address. It has advised that it does not have the authority to refund me the money once I have sold the unit. So how do I get the refund?
Mark, Saanich

Dear Mark: When a refund comes due, that refund is payable to the owner of the strata lot. The owner is defined as the person who is on title at the time the refund is due.

As is similar to the payment of a special levy, if your sale is completed before the refund from a special levy becomes due, the obligation or benefit is transferred to the owner at the time of the due date. The resolution that first approved the special levy three years ago may have identified the owners or the process differently, so it would be important to review the original resolution, as well; however, this is more common with a lawsuit where the individual parties may be named as opposed to the strata corporation. Vendors who are wanting to secure their rights to a refund need to seek legal advice on the contractual agreement for sale and the enforceability of such an agreement.

March 28 2010
Vancouver Province
by: Tony Gioventu is executive director of the Condominium Home Owners' Association.

If you are looking to Buy or to Sell real estate in Vancouver area, give me a call. My consultations are FREE. The benefits to You, may be worth a lot of money.
Call Jeff Stark at 604-290-7890 or email me at jeff@jeffreystark.net

There are changes to rental rules in the BC Strata Property Act. Here is an example.

Published in the Vancouver Province on Sunday Feb 28th

Dear Condo Smarts: I have been working with a realtor and trying to find a condo to purchase for investment that I intend to use as a rental. There seems to be quite a bit of confusion right now over the types of units that can be rented. I have requested information certificates for two buildings and upon reviewing the bylaws and the number of rentals, there seems to be no logic in the relationship of the limitation on rentals and actual number of rentals.

Could you please tell us how we could find a building where we can buy a unit, rent it out, and have some longterm security over its use.
- Jens Crezma, Vancouver

Dear Jens: There have been some minor changes in the strata legislation that affect rental units.

A strata corporation is permitted to adopt a bylaw that limits or restricts the number of rentals to either a specific number, such as 10 units, or a specific percentage, such as 10 per cent of the total number of units. The changes in legislation now exclude family rentals, as permitted by the act, and hardship exemption rentals. So in the total count of the number of rentals permitted under a bylaw, those are no longer included.

There is no such description as "developer rentals", but I suspect you are referring to the effects of a rental disclosure statement. There are two different exemptions now that apply to rental exemptions, and they refer to units filed under a rental disclosure before Jan. 1, 2010, and those filed after Jan. 1, 2010.

For strata lots created with a valid, filed rental disclosure before Jan. 1, 2010, the owner developer was permitted to file the proper form with the superintendent of real estate. The form set out a declaration of the units they intended to rent for a prescribed period of time. That exemption, if enforceable, applies only to the first purchaser, and expires on the period of time published on the form or when the first purchaser sells the unit. Many of these forms filed before Jan. 1, 2010, identified the period of time as "indefinite" and a court decision in 2000 found that an "indefinite period" was unenforceable, and the first purchaser was not exempt; however, a recent court decision in December of 2009, of Spagnuolo v. Strata Plan BCS 879, has overturned the previous decision, and found that an "unlimited period" is a valid rental disclosure statement.

If you are purchasing a unit from a developer where the proper rental disclosure form was filed before Jan. 1, 2010, and it identifies the intent to rent the units for an "unlimited" period, then as the first purchaser, you are likely exempt from the rental bylaws. If you are buying from the first or a subsequent purchaser, that exemption no longer applies.

As of Jan. 1, 2010, the rules have changed on new developments, too.

The only way you can have some assurance that your strata lot will be exempt from strata bylaws is by purchasing a unit that falls under a rental disclosure exemption. Even strata buildings that average a high ratio of rentals with no bylaw restrictions often change over the years and adopt rental bylaws. Before you purchase, make sure you have a copy of the rental disclosure from the superintendent of real estate, and seek legal advice on the enforceability of the form. Not all forms grant exemptions or are enforceable, so never assume your unit will be exempt.

Tony Gioventu
is executive director of the Condominium Home Owners' Association. Send questions to him at tony@choa.bc.ca

  If you are looking to Buy or to Sell real estate in Vancouver area, give me a call. My consultations are FREE. The benefits to You, may be worth a lot of money.
Call Jeff Stark at 604-506-8481 or email me at jeff@jeffreystark.net

For some time now, and since the new Strata Property Act was brought in in July 2000, any Buyers  of Strata properties had to abide by the Bylaws regulating the rental of strata units. The rental Disclosure document, or form "J", filed by the Developer usually indicated the length of time that the units will be designated as rentals. This could be limited to several years or indefinite.

This meant that a buyer of a unit in a Strata, purchasing from the Developer, (first buyer), had a right to rent his unit for the period of time that the Form "J" specified, regardless of any changes in Bylaws limiting the rentals.

However, the second buyer, (buying as a resale) did not have that right. If restrictions to rentals had been voted in by the Strata Corporation, the second Buyer would have to abide by these  changes.

As of Jan 1, 2010, the Strata Property Act was changed, which will make it easier for the second buyer to be an investor, because the only governing document they will have to abide to is the Form "J" and it's limitations.

This explanation, courtesy of
Spagnuolo & Company Real Estate Lawyers

There has been a shortage of rental units for years in British Columbia. In order to address this, the Provincial Government recently passed legislation dealing with the rental provisions of the Strata Property Act ("SPA").

Under the old section 143 of the SPA, a rental restriction bylaw passed by a Strata Corporation did not apply to that strata lot until the strata lot was conveyed by the first owner after the developer or until the date that the rental period disclosed in the RDS expired, whichever was earlier. Essentially the first owner was always able to rent out the strata unit until the expiration of the rental period disclosed in the RDS, but not subsequent owners.

Pursuant to the amended Section 143 of the SPA, for a new RDS filed after December 31, 2009, a rental restriction bylaw will not apply to that strata lot until the date that the rental period disclosed in the RDS expires. This expiration is usually a long time away: perhaps 99 years or even indefinite.

Therefore, practically speaking, starting January 1, 2010, a new RDS will benefit every subsequent owner of that strata lot rather than just the first owner after the developer. All future owners will be able to rent the strata lot without being subject to any rental restriction bylaw for as long as the rental period disclosed in the new RDS allows them to.

This does not apply to strata buildings where the RDS was filed prior to Dec. 31, 2009.

 If you are looking to Buy or to Sell real estate in Vancouver area, give me a call. My consultations are FREE. The benefits to You, may be worth a lot of money.
Call Jeff Stark at 604-506-8481 or email me at jeff@jeffreystark.net

Condo Smarts
Vancouver Province February 14th, 2010

DearCondoSmarts: Ourstratahad a flood before the holidays where an overloaded washing machine went manic and soaked three units in our building. The council was contacted; it made arrangements for restoration and we had fans in hallways and holes cut in the walls for dryers. The owners were impressed that it happened so quickly.

As for the owner with the manic washing machine, she just received a bill for the deductible amount of $5,000. She was about to pay it, but noticed the bill was not from the insurance company, so called the insurer to see the insurance invoice. Council refused to file the claim and we'venowfoundoutthecouncilhired themselves to do the restoration work and bill it back to the owner.

There was no adjuster involved, and no report on the scope of the work done, or if even all the restoration was complete. One owner is still left with a wet, stained ceiling and no one coming to her aid. Is it a conflict of interest when council members pay themselves?

Dear Liz: Conflict of interest is a common bone of contention in strata corporations when the council executes decisions that result in personal benefits without the consent of the strata owners or exempting the benefited strata council member. The Strata Property Act says in part: "A council member who has a direct or indirect interest in a contract or transaction with the strata or decision that is a subject being addressed by the strata ... must 1) disclose fully and promptly to the council the nature and extent of the interest 2) abstain from voting on the transaction or matter, and 3) leave thecouncilmeetingwiththecontract, transaction or matter is discussed and while the remaining council votes on the contract, transaction or matter."

Here are the basics. Strata council must act in the best interest of the strata corporation; they cannot be compensatedfortheirdutiesascouncil members without the approval of the corporation, either in the budget, in the bylaws or by approved 3/4 vote at a general meeting; and a council member cannot vote on the awarding of a contract, transaction, or matter where he or she has some sort of direct or indirect personal or beneficial gain. Strata council can determine who it contracts with, and that could include a council member, but is that person qualified? Would it be a prudent decision to contract with a council member who may not be qualified, covered by WCB, insured or even competent to perform the work? Were the repairs and restoration completed properly?

In addition, the owner affected by the alleged deductible claim likely also now has a problem with her own insurance company's willingness to cover the deductible claim, as it is not a deductible, but an invoice from the strata corporation of a related repair. Council members who try to cut corners on the cost of claims or whoattempttocompensateeachother for any of the strata council duties without the strata approval are just opening the door for conflicts.

Tony Gioventu is executive-director of the Condominium Home Owners' Association. Send questions to him at tony@choa.bc.ca

If you are looking to Buy or to Sell real estate in Vancouver area, give me a call. My consultations are FREE. The benefits to You, may be worth a lot of money.
Call Jeff Stark at 604-506-8481 or email me at jeff@jeffreystark.net