Section 164 of British Columbia’s Strata Property Act says that a court in British Columbia can make an Order to prevent or remedy actions of the Strata Council if those actions are, or may be, “significantly unfair” to an owner or tenant.
The words “significantly unfair” have been considered in recent British Columbia court decisions. By way of summary, the courts have said that conduct is “significantly unfair” if it is oppressive or unfairly prejudicial. Oppressive conduct is described in the cases as conduct which is “burdensome, harsh, wrongful, lacking in probity or fair dealing, or has been done in bad faith”. Unfairly prejudicial conduct is described as being “unjust and inequitable”.
The courts have also noted that Strata Corporations must act in the best interests of all owners, and that those interests may sometimes conflict with the interests of a particular owner or group of owners. With this in mind, the courts have said that conduct which is significantly unfair must go beyond “mere prejudice or trifling unfairness”.
It appears to me that British Columbia courts are essentially interpreting the words “significantly unfair” as more or less equating to “oppressive”, so that Section 164 of the Strata Property Act more or less equates to the oppression remedy found in other jurisdictions and in other corporate regimes.
Here are some recent examples: