January 5, 2016

BC Supreme Court issues ruling in strata-property smoking dispute

In a judgment released on Christmas Eve, the Supreme Court of British Columbia has once again ruled in a strata-property case involving second-hand smoke. Andrushko v The Owners Strata Plan KAS 1041 McIntosh Grove, 2015 BCSC 2445 will be of interest to strata councils and their advisors, who are increasing being Read more…

January 4, 2016

New South Wales: “New era for strata will start in 2016”

British Columbia isn’t the only jurisdiction examining reform of its strata-property legislation. Another interesting reform project is going on in the Australian state of New South Wales. New South Wales has had strata-property legislation since the early 1960s. Its legislation has a special relationship to British Columbia’s, since the first-generation New Read more…

December 22, 2015

Special costs awarded against couple who represented themselves in strata-property arbitration

A recent decision of the British Columbia Supreme Court shows, once again, the danger of becoming so entrenched in a strata-property dispute that informal, neighborly resolution becomes impossible and adversarial dispute-resolution becomes the preferred option. The case also illustrates the application of the principles that the Supreme Court of Canada Read more…

December 8, 2015

BC Supreme Court decides owner-developer should not be penalized for failing to hold strata corporation’s first AGM

Some of the most difficult legal issues that can affect a strata property arise early in the life of a strata. When a strata property is created, its owner-developer holds title to all the strata lots. Over time, these strata lots are sold off to new strata-lot owners. But until Read more…

November 26, 2015

Societies Act coming into force in November 2016

The law governing not-for-profit corporations in British Columbia is going to change dramatically in a little over a year, with the announcement that the new Societies Act will come into force on 28 November 2016. The Societies Act will usher in a host of changes for societies. BC Registry Services is rolling out Read more…