Part 1 published on 01/02/03
Strata Corporation’s obligation to repair and maintain subject to test of reasonableness
Strata Plan LMS744 is a 139-unit, 25-storey highrise. Off and on, over several years, the hot water from the taps in suite 1204’s ensuite bathroom had been discoloured (a yellow-brown colour).
The owners of unit 1204 asserted that the Strata Corporation had failed to fulfill its repair and maintenance responsibilities by failing to correct the discoloured water.
The Court said that the Strata Corporation cannot guarantee that water is never discoloured. The Court said “The Strata Corporation is obligated to act reasonably to maintain and repair the pipes, including making good plumbing which is causing water discolouration. If pipes caused a serious and imminent health risk, a Strata Corporation might be obligated to take immediate steps to solve the problem. Where the problem is aesthetic only, as is the case here, it is reasonable for the Strata Corporation to take more time. In either case, the Strata Corporation is entitled to rely on reasonable expert evidence.”
The Court said that “the obligation to repair and maintain must be interpreted with a test of reasonableness”. The Court followed similar reasoning previously set out in the decision: Wright vs. Strata Plan No. 205.
After setting out this test, the Court then found that the Strata Corporation had failed to act reasonably in the fulfillment of its repair and maintenance responsibilities during the period July 1, 1999 through December 31, 2000, but had otherwise acted reasonably. The Court specifically noted that the Strata Corporation acted reasonably in hiring an expert, and in following that expert’s advice with reasonable haste – beginning in 2001.
[Editorial Comment: This is another helpful decision from British Columbia respecting the obligations of Condominium Corporations. Condominium Corporations are not “guarantors” of the common elements. In other words, Condominium Corporations do not guarantee that the common elements will at all times be in satisfactory condition. The obligation upon Condominium Corporations is to take reasonable steps to repair and maintain the common elements. Such reasonable steps could include appropriate periodic inspections, scheduled periodic maintenance, attendance to problems with reasonable haste once those problems are brought to the corporation’s attention, hiring experts to assist, where appropriate, and then following the advice of those experts with reasonable haste.]