Too many strata councils are shielded from accountability by the Strata Property Act and Civil Resolution Tribunal

The Goals of the petition are to:                                                    

1.  Request an amendment to Strata Property Act Section 35 to add invoices, source documents, and agendas for regular meetings of council, to the list of documents strata must provide an owner on request under section 36; and

 2.  To add penalties in the form of fines on the Strata Corporation for refusals or delays in providing section 35 documents, same fines to be made payable to the aggrieved owner; and

3.   To amend section 35 of the Act to require free online or other digital access to all section 35 documents preferably by way of a strata owned portal such that owners have rapid access and documents are not lost when there is a changeover of property management.

These changes will help by:

a. Ensuring the trust for owners that accompanies strata transparency and accountability, as was intended by the original legislation but is not happening.

b. Providing long overdue improvements such as fast digital access to s.35 documents for owners.

c. Encouraging Strata Councils to take seriously their mandatory, legal obligations under sections 35 and 36, instead of obstructing owner access to source and other core documents.

d. Decreasing the time needed to process a CRT claim and the jeopardy on owner-claimants as they enter the process lacking the documents needed for a fair processing of the dispute.

e. Less stress on the time and resources of the CRT such as by reducing the number of preliminary decisions needed to address disclosure.

f. Increasing oversight by owners and more transparency by strata will reduce instances of: errors, omissions, misuse of funds (without the consent of the ownership); and actual and potential misappropriation, racketeering, money laundering and fraud.

g. Reducing unnecessary spending on legal fees and other litigation expenses currently exhausting funds that would better be invested in building maintenance, repairs and improvements.

h. Sharing agendas at or before regular council meetings will encourage community-building and accurate minutes, and facilitate owner-observers as they seek to follow the now common ZOOM meetings that are often interspersed by private meetings at which important decisions are made and acted on, but not always ratified (as required) at the scheduled ZOOM meeting.

We are asking the BC legislature to amend s.35 and s.36 and the accompanying regulation, in order to provide legal certainty, enhance transparency, accountability and oversight by owners, and thus democracy for strata homeowners. In the absence of enforceable penalties and the suggested amendments, we are confident many, even most, strata corporations will continue to flout the Act and not fulfill their legal obligations to the ownership while exhausting strata funds on lawyers to assist them with obstructing.

To the Honourable Speaker 

Resolution to the members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia

This petition on behalf of the many who currently, or will reside in a strata complex, brings to the attention of the House the need for penalties to enforce mandatory Sections 35 and 36 of the Strata Property Act (the ACT). Additionally, invoices, source documents and agendas for regular meetings of council should be added to the list of documents a strata must produce and store under s.35 and share with owners on request under s.36, providing the disclosure necessary for oversight and consumer protection, so owners can see how their strata is being managed and how their funds paid in trust, are being spent.

Section 35 lists the documents strata corporations must prepare and store and s.36 requires the strata to release these documents, on request by an owner, with one or two exceptions, within 2 weeks of the request.

We ask the legislature to amend s.35, s.36 and the accompanying regulation, in order to provide legal certainty and to ensure transparency, accountability and oversight by owners, and democracy for all strata homeowners. Access to justice for strata owners is now limited, in most instances, to dispute resolution by the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT). It is an entirely digital, online process.

Section 35 documents should all be made available at no cost to owners, digitally by email, or by way of an encrypted online portal preferably, one owned by the strata corporation. Requiring this of Stratas in the ACT will eliminate the existing jeopardy and level the playing field for owner applicants applying to the CRT and it will reduce or eliminate the need for preliminary decisions to address non-compliance with document disclosure, thus respecting the resources of the tribunal. Requiring digital access is timely, just and fair and makes common sense, similar to going paperless for bank statements. 

The undersigned petitioners ask the Legislature to enact changes and/or amendments similar to those now in place in Ontario with penalties on strata corporations of up to $5,000.00 for non-compliance with s.35 and s.36 of the Act. We also ask that the Act be amended to add agendas for regular meetings of council and most importantly, invoices to s.35 (2) and to amend as necessary, applicable regulations such as 4.1.

Rationale for Petition 1  (SPA sections 35 & 36 Document Disclosure Provisions):

Quick access to core documents is vital for owners who want to be assured of proper management and quality maintenance and repairs of the common property, the structure that houses their home. Strata councils, often persuaded by property management, who are not encompassed by the Strata Property Act, frequently ignore their legal obligations, refuse to share documents, and go to considerable lengths to obstruct access to information owners are entitled to, knowing there is no penalty or consequence. Many are aware that it takes almost a year for a ruling by the CRT and even then, CRT orders are not enforceable without further costly action after filing with the court. Legal costs skyrocket for both sides including the strata, as nearly all councils now retain lawyers who act ‘in the background’ and often extra fees are paid to property management during the dispute thus incentivizing more litigation. The only winners are lawyers and property management as all costs are ultimately paid by owners.

While many CRT decisions determine that a violation of the Act has occurred, even if the strata then cooperates, there is often a substantial time lapse between the owner’s request and receipt of documents thus creating further jeopardy and injustice. A CRT ruling of “no remedy required” and the strata simply told to release the documents if the owner asks again, is NOT sufficient as it provides no deterrent. To date, the maximum penalty for strata non-compliance is a requirement that it provides the documents denied at no cost to the owner. Again, this is entirely insufficient and ineffective.

Importantly, the Section 35 list of required documents must include invoices for goods and services paid for by the strata, otherwise there is no way to follow the money. Also to be included with invoices are source documents. There is also a greater chance of errors, omissions, misspending or fraud if owners are not able to verify details.

Regular meetings of council are often by ZOOM with owner-observers on mute and never given an opportunity to speak while in the past councils would often allow owners to speak briefly. It can be very difficult to follow what is happening and the depersonalization is significant with negative impact on strata communities. A small step to correct would be to add agendas to the s.35 list.

Our requests for changes are in keeping the content and character of the Cullen Report that recommends more disclosure and reporting to prevent fraud and money laundering, including in strata real estate.

The CRT has heard more than 500 disputes related to violations of s.35 and s.36. since its first decision in November, 2016. These were just the claims made by owners who pursued their rights through the CRT. It grossly underestimates the total number of individuals who have been denied access to documents by their strata.

These changes are best made within the Act, not left to strata bylaws, as consistency is important especially for owners moving from one strata to another who reasonably expect that differences will not be dramatic. Also, strata bylaws are often poorly drafted by novices. Ontario has recognized that condo corporations were not taking seriously their document disclosure obligations and added penalties to their legislation, ranging from $2,000 to $5,000 per offence, payable to the aggrieved owner. This had a positive impact as observed by their tribunal and by citizens during several years.

We are asking the BC legislature to amend s.35 and s.36 and the accompanying regulation, in order to provide legal certainty, enhance transparency, accountability and oversight by owners, and thus democracy for all strata homeowners. In the absence of enforceable penalties and the suggested amendments, we are confident many, even most, strata corporations will continue to flout the Act and not fulfill their legal obligations to the ownership while exhausting strata funds on lawyers to assist them with obstructing.