18/10/2024– Jurisdiction British Columbia
Part 89 published on 01/03/2025
Hot tub not permitted
This was an appeal by the strata corporation from a decision of the Civil Resolution Tribunal. In its decision, the Tribunal had held that an inflatable hot tub was allowed on the respondents’ patio as patio furniture within the terms of the corporation’s Bylaw 53(4), contrary to the prior direction of the Strata Corporation.
The appeal was allowed and the Court of appeal reversed the Tribunal’s decision. The Court of Appeal said:
In my respectful view, it was not open to the Tribunal to assume for the Strata Corporation, the risk of hot tub water draining through the surface drains on the patio associated with the storm sewer. While it may be that the chlorinated water would not damage pipes or systems as the Tribunal hypothesized, on the evidence before the Tribunal, draining hot tub water from the deck though the deck’s drains is not allowed by municipal bylaws. Accordingly, the Tribunal, in finding that the hot tub is permissible patio furniture, has reached a result that does not cohere with the municipal regulatory scheme. This consideration, along with the limitations on the other items allowed to be placed on the patio, persuades me that the allowed items set out in Bylaw 53(4) does not extend to hot tubs.
In my view, the decision of the Tribunal was patently unreasonable in accepting that the presence of the hot tub could lead to the effluxion of treated water through the surface water/storm sewer system, contrary to law. Further, the decision of the Tribunal was patently unreasonable in holding that the hot tub was patio furniture within the meaning of the Bylaw.