Olympic disruptions are a problem facing all strata councils
Tony Gioventu
Province
Q Each year my wife and I travel somewhere exotic in the world. We often rent our unit for three to six months to similar people from other countries wanting the B.C. experience.
Only now we’ve been told by our strata council that we cannot have short-term rentals any more, even though our bylaws don’t define what a short-term rental is.
We tried applying for a hardship exemption, but one of the council members accused us of trying to live in the lap of luxury at the expense of the other owners who have to put up with our tenants.
Isn’t there some sort of intervention by the government when the strata corporation acts unfairly against owners?
— Tomas Wong, Vancouver
A The Strata Property Act is self-regulating legislation and the provincial government does not regulate the Act or intervene if there is non-compliance. Strata corporations resolve their disputes either through agreement, mediation, arbitration or through the courts.
Your strata adopted a bylaw in 2002 that prohibits rentals entirely, except for exemptions granted by the act and for hardship rentals.
So short-term rentals such as yours would be prohibited as well.
(The decision to grant a hardship exemption is decided by the strata council, not by individual council members).
Your question does raise a business matter that applies to every B.C. strata corporation and their rental bylaws as we approach 2010.
Owners who might be looking to earn a quick profit by renting their units short-term during the Olympics may find they face stiff penalties if they are in violation of the bylaws.
There are security issues with multiple access keys and a higher rate of transient visitors.
The spirit of the games will result in vacationers wanting to celebrate and access the buildings at odd hours, resulting in noise and disruptions.
Damage caused to buildings and common property by visitors and revelers will end up costing landlords and the strata. Parking is already in short supply, so allocations for visitor and tenant parking will be at a premium.
Extra pressure will be placed on common areas, exercise rooms, pools and laundry facilities.
All of these issues can easily be anticipated through strata bylaws long before the event making the games a great asset rather than a rental headache after they’re done.
Tony Gioventu is the executive director of the Condominium Home Owners Association (CHOA). Contact CHOA at 604-584-2462 or toll-free 1-877-353-2462, fax 604-515-9643 or e-mail [email protected]
© The Vancouver Province 2006
