31/04/2021 – Jurisdiction Alberta
Part 74 published on 01/03/2021
Condominium corporation granted right to access owners’ unit, but no award of costs
The condominium corporation required access to the owners’ unit in order to perform certain required maintenance on the building’s plumbing systems. In previous attempts to gain entry to the unit, the corporation had failed to provide proper notice to the owners in accordance with the corporation’s by-laws. Furthermore, there had been a physical altercation (with one of the owners) on one attempt to access the unit.
The owners sought a restraining order against the corporation’s Manager. Among other things, the owners alleged that the Manager had “been entering their unit and stealing their personal confidential documents, and” … “had disclosed their private confidential information to another company”.
The Court found no evidence to justify the requested restraining order, and therefore dismissed the owners’ application for a restraining order.
The Court also confirmed the right of the condominium corporation to enter the unit for the indicated purposes, and granted the requested order to permit this, with specific procedures to be followed spelled out in the order. The Court said:
It is obvious that condo buildings contain pipes, ducts, cables and other mechanical equipment that service multiple units, and that they cannot properly be maintained or serviced by individual unit owners. The Bylaws require the Corporation to do the work, which (the Manager) arranges through its management services agreement. If systems break down or fail, the Corporation could be liable to the other 281 unit holders in the building for damages they might sustain. If the necessary maintenance cannot be completed because the Demyanenkos refuse access and a system fails, the Demyanenkos could be liable to the Corporation and to other unit holders. That could ruin the Demyanenkos financially.
The Court also said that the condominium corporation was not required to provide “detailed explanations or justification for the work being done” (as requested by the owners).
However, the Court declined to award costs to the condominium corporation. On the question of costs, the Court said:
I will not grant any costs against the Demyanenkos with respect to either application, because the Corporation failed to comply with its own Bylaws regarding notice and tried twice to gain access without proper notice, which created the issues bringing the parties to court.