Part 55 published on 01/09/16
Owner responsible to pay for hydro supplied to owner’s units. Corporation responsible to repair the windows
The Declaration said that the common expenses included utilities, unless “separately metered for each unit”. There were 11 meters recording hydro supplied to 28 commercial units. The owner of the commercial units argued that it could only be responsible to pay the hydro charges if there was one meter per unit. The Court disagreed and held that the commercial owner was responsible to pay for the hydro supplied to the commercial units.
In relation to the windows, the Court noted that the windows were common elements and were not designated as exclusive-use common elements. Therefore, the Declaration could not impose the obligation to repair the windows on the owners. The Court said:
(Section 91 of the Condominium Act, 1998) does not grant a condominium corporation the authority to impose on a unit owner the obligation to repair common elements after damage, except for common elements designated for the exclusive use of an owner.