The petition below outlines the following concerns: 

1. Construction of Panorama South 62 occurred between 2015 and 2018.
2. The Strata Corporation did not receive a water meter bill until June 2019.
3. The City arrived at the amount owing under the Invoice by reading the water meter for a seven-day period in September 2019.
4.  The Strata Corporation received the Invoice requesting $143,331.34.
5. There are many owners who consumed water from 2015 to 2019 and moved out after selling the units.
6. As a result , the burden is on the present occupants who never used the water which they are asked to pay.
7. The city has NOT replied since April 03 2020 to the notice.

We represent The Owners, Strata Plan EPS3428 (the “Strata Corporation”), which consists of owners of the townhouse complex known as Panorama South 62. We write with respect to the water meter bill dated November 12, 2019, and to offer an appropriate payment to settle the amount owing for the Strata Corporation’s water consumption.

Construction of Panorama South 62 occurred between 2015 and 2018, with Phase 1 & 2 becoming the Strata Corporation in January 2017. Panorama South 62 did not achieve full occupancy of its 138 units until May 2018.

Although residents began occupying the condominium in 2016, the Strata Corporation did not receive a water meter bill until June 2019 (the “Invoice”). The Invoice totals $143,331.34, and intends to reflect the period between January 2017 and June 2019 (the “Unaccounted Period”) where the City of Surrey (the “City”) did not bill the Strata Corporation for its water consumption. There is also credits on this invoice. A subsequent invoice issued December 2019 reflects a total of $141,285.01.

The developer responsible for constructing Panorama South 62 placed the water meter adjacent to the amenity closet. The amenity closet and surrounding area was locked for one week during the Unaccounted Period, but was otherwise accessible to City employees. Despite the accessibility of the condominium’s water meter, the City repeatedly failed to read it, which explains the City’s failure to bill the Strata Corporation for its water consumption for the Unaccounted Period. 

The City attempts to explain its failure to read the water meter by claiming the water meter was situated behind a construction pit. However, as explained above, this is categorically false. The City simply neglected to read the water meter.

Many of the individuals that occupied the condominium during the Unaccounted Period have since moved out and have been replaced by new residents. The City is now demanding payment for water consumption by these new residents who are not responsible for water consumption during the Unaccounted Period. This is not an equitable solution to a problem created by the City’s failure to do its job.

The City arrived at the amount owing under the Invoice by reading the water meter for a seven-day period in September 2019, and using that isolated figure to estimate the water usage for the Unaccounted Period.

Understandably, the Strata Corporation was alarmed when it received the Invoice requesting $143,331.34. It is not, nor has it ever been, the Strata Corporation’s intention to abscond from paying for its water consumption. However, the Strata Corporation believes the methods employed by the City to calculate the amount owing do not realistically represent the Strata Corporation’s water consumption.

Other comparable townhouse condominiums in Surrey budget for approximately $55,000.00 per year for water consumption. Consequently, the City estimates the Strata Corporation’s water consumption is over 40% higher than the average townhouse complex in Surrey.

On October 30, 2019, the City issued a utility bill for the water meter (the “October 2019 Invoice”) for actual water consumption for June 19, 2019 through September 23, 2019. The October 2019 Invoice was the first water meter bill issued by the City based on the Strata Corporation’s actual water consumption. For this ninety-six day period, the Strata Corporation’s average water consumption was 0.47826087 cubic metres per day per unit.

The October 2019 Invoice provides a more accurate metric for calculating the Strata Corporation’s water consumption for the Unaccounted Period than the seven-day period used by the City. Based on the data reflected in the October 2019 Invoice, the Strata Corporation would owe approximately $77,863.32 for the Unaccounted Period. However, although an improved metric, relying on a ninety-six day period that falls within the hottest months of the year still does not realistically reflect the Strata Corporation’s actual water consumption for the Unaccounted Period.

Moreover, the Strata Corporation’s irrigation system was not fully operational until 2019. The Invoice should reflect this, as well as the fact the condominium was built in phases.

Finally, the City billed the Strata Corporation twice for the period of June 20, 2019 through July 30, 2019. The Strata Corporation was first billed for this period in an invoice dated September 17, 2019 (the “September 2019 Invoice”), which is a bill for the Strata Corporation’s water consumption for the period of January 1, 2017 though July 30, 2019. The September 2019 Invoice uses the seven-day window to arrive at the amount owing. The Strata Corporation was billed a second time for this period in the October 2019 Invoice, which bills for the Strata Corporation’s actual water consumption for June 19, 2019 through September 23, 2019.