Homeowner loses legal fight for thousands after B.C. strata tosses bike
A homeowner launched a legal fight with the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal after his strata tossed or donated his bike that was left in a storage room.
The homeowner claimed $3,000 in damages for the discarded bike.
In response to the homeowner’s claim, the strata said it didn’t remove or dispose of the bike, but did admit to auditing the bikes in the storage room.
“The strata says it did not dispose of any usable bikes, but only donated some small non-ridable bikes and bike parts,” the tribunal decision, which was posted online, states.
The tribunal saw this more as a case of the homeowner failing to stay informed about the happenings in the strata-governed building, rather than the strata disregarding a homeowner’s personal belongings.
According to the decision, the strata claimed that the homeowner had no proof that he stored the bike in the storage unit, but the tribunal denied that claim thanks to photos that were provided to it.
Minutes from an October 2022 council meeting reveal that the purpose of the bike audit was to create more space in the bike storage area.
“The bike audit is also documented in a Nov. 7, 2022, memorandum and a Nov. 7, 2022, email to strata residents. The memorandum and email say that residents could pick up bike passes from the building manager during set hours from Nov. 7 to 18, and that failure to register a bike would result in it being removed and donated,” the tribunal decision notes.
Unfortunately for the homeowner, he failed to comply with a warning from the strata that if homeowners didn’t want their bikes potentially removed, they needed to put a tag on them.
Despite no firm evidence that the strata removed the bike, the tribunal found that it was likely; however, the tribunal didn’t consider the strata liable.
The homeowner claimed he was out of the country and dealing with medical issues, but failed to provide evidence to back up his claims. The tribunal said that even if the homeowner could prove that he wasn’t given enough notice before his bike was removed, he wouldn’t have been awarded the $3,000 in damages, because he failed to provide evidence of the bike’s value.
The homeowner’s claims were ultimately dismissed by the tribunal.