Part 53 published on 01/02/16
Court orders strata corporation to write to its owners about the corporation’s past violations
The strata corporation had failed to follow the requirements of the Strata Property Act in relation to:
a) Levying of special assessments; and
b) Disclosure to the owners.
The violations had been remedied, but the Court was concerned about the risk of further violations. The Court said:
It is my order that the Strata Corporation prepare a communication to be distributed to all individual strata owners. The communication must include that it is being sent by order of this Court and as a result of the respondent’s acknowledged errors in matters of finance and governance in the past. It must insert paragraph’s 50 to 52 of this decision into the body of the letter to provide context. In addition, it must point out the errors that have been made in the special levies from 2010 to 2012 and the changes that have been made. It must review the legislation that governs special levies and emergency spending. It must explain its obligations for disclosure of documents. Last, it must include a synopsis of the requirements for notice of resolutions for special levies and bylaw amendments as well as the process for amendment of such resolutions.
Paragraphs 50 to 52 of the Court’s decision state as follows:
Fundamental to this decision is a characterization of the respondent’s responses to the issues raised by the petitioner. As was stressed by counsel for the respondent, the strata council is made of lay persons performing volunteer roles. Mistakes will be made and missteps taken. Within reason, some latitude is justified when scrutinizing their conduct. At the same time, the Act sets up a detailed scheme and establishes processes for every aspect of the business of the respondent. Indeed, the materials include a letter from the management company sent to an owner defending the actions of the council which describes the council as “… an experienced Strata Council that goes out of its way to stay current with changes in policy and procedure.”
Individual owners need to be able to trust and rely on their councils to operate within that legislative scheme. Reasonable and appropriate inquiries from owners should not be viewed as a nuisance and there is no room for arrogance in the fulfillment of those volunteer roles no matter what the title. There must also be recognition that some owners can become unreasonable and an impossible drain on the patience and time of those who do volunteer.
Part of reducing conflict and misunderstanding is knowledge. Accordingly, this decision focuses on imparting knowledge through reminding and informing those affected.
The Court ordered that counsel for the strata corporation prepare the draft letter for review by counsel for the petitioning owner; and ultimately for approval by the Court.