03/05/2018 – Jurisdiction British Columbia
Part 62 published on 01/06/2018
Appeal Dismissed. Court orders owner to remove heat pump.
The lower Court ordered the owner to remove a heat pump, which the Court said was an unauthorized modification to the common property. [See Condo Cases Across Canada, Part 60, December 2017.]
The owner appealed and the appeal was dismissed. The Appeal Court said:
I accept the appellant’s position that immaterial changes to common property will not be “alterations” for the purposes of Bylaw 6(1). It seems to me, however, that on any sensible definition of “alteration”, the cutting of a 2-inch hole in an exterior wall, and the installation of permanent pipes in the wall and out to a heat pump constitutes an “alteration” that is material. The judge made no error in coming to such a conclusion.
Because the heat pump was both affixed to the patio and permanently attached to the pipes, I also agree with the chambers judge’s conclusion that it constituted an alteration to the common property.
Allwest International Equipment Sales Co. Ltd. v. The Owners, Strata Plan LMS4591