Part 43 published on 01/09/13
Owner not prohibited from using common elements for storage
In this five-unit condominium, one of the owners was using part of the common elements for storage. The Court said that there was nothing in the corporation’s rules to prevent this. However, the Court said that the corporation could pass a rule to prevent this storage. The particular owner therefore could not expect that it had the permanent right to use the particular area of the common elements for storage, even if the declarant had given the owner assurances of such. The Court said:
The (owner) must be taken to be aware of Section 58 of (the Condominium Act, 1998) which permits rules to be enacted to reasonably regulate the use of the common elements. Buying into a condominium development necessarily carries with it a recognition that one’s own personal interests may have to be modified to accommodate the reasonable interests of other owners, subject to the protections afforded by the Act.