This issue of Condo Cases Across Canada contains summaries of three Human Rights cases out of British Columbia. The B.C. Human Rights Tribunal appears to be “leading the way” in terms of the obligations of strata / condominium corporations to residents with disabilities (in their communities).
The basic principle expressed in those cases is as follows: Strata / condominium corporations have positive obligations to residents (with disabilities) who are affected by the actions of their neighbours – whether because of smoke, noise, odours, or other impacts. The B.C. Human Rights Tribunal has established a list of required steps to be taken by strata councils / condominium Boards in such circumstances. [In my view, the resident with the disability also has strong obligations to cooperate and assist, by (among other things) providing any helpful information to the corporation. But the point is that these cases are saying that the corporations have specific positive obligations to explore, and to seek to resolve, the complaints.]
In my view, we can expect to see similar decisions from other Human Rights Tribunals across Canada.
The bottom line is as follows: Human Rights Tribunals are telling us that strata / condominium corporations have serious, positive duties (to investigate, often with experts, and pursue reasonable solutions) when concerns are raised by residents with disabilities. And this may often mean that the corporation is required to incur significant costs (for the investigations and/or to pursue and implement the solutions).