B.C. homeowners take fight to strata over the right to keep a gazebo
A legal fight over a gazebo between a pair of B.C. homeowners and a strata made its way to the Civil Resolution Tribunal.
According to the dispute decision, the homeowners, a couple, installed a gazebo on their limited common property patio.
The B.C. homeowners argued that they had received verbal permission from a strata council member to install their gazebo and to install cedar squares over a lattice fence to block glare from headlights and to enhance the privacy of their patio.
The homeowners told the tribunal they wanted to keep their gazebo and sought damages of $2,586.93 for the cedar squares and $1,942.50 for the cost to remove planter boxes from the patio. They also asked the tribunal to order the strata to cancel their bylaw fines related to the gazebo.
In response, the strata denied that a council member gave verbal approval for the cedar squares or the gazebo installation. The strata added that the homeowners violated bylaws, arguing the fines were valid.
According to the strata, the homeowners needed written, not verbal, approval for the gazebo. The tribunal decision notes that someone from the strata named LM had a conversation with one of the homeowners about the gazebo in July 2023. LM says that one of the homeowners said she was thinking of putting up a gazebo or umbrella on the patio, but didn’t provide photos or details.
LM described it as a preliminary conversation about ideas. LM later recalled agreeing to a temporary “small tent-like structure” to cover outdoor furniture belonging to the homeowners.
The tribunal suggested there was a misunderstanding between the two parties, but that the applicants did not prove that they got approval for the gazebo. The tribunal made the same argument against the cedar squares, a lack of proof of approval, and dismissed the homeowners’ claims for the cost of the squares.
The tribunal turned to whether or not the gazebo was demonstrative of a “significant change” under the strata act, which would violate the strata’s bylaws.
“Photos show the gazebo is visible to the public and other residents from their strata lots. So, I find the gazebo is a significant change in the use and appearance of common property under SPA section 71,” the tribunal said, adding that it did indeed breach the strata act.
In response to the threat of bylaw fines, the homeowners tried to argue that the gazebo was summer furniture or accessories, which was permitted by the bylaws. Due to the fact that the strata had never permitted gazebos on any patio, the tribunal decided that it indicated that the community did not intend to include gazebos as summer furniture.
The homeowners received their first fine of $200 in October 2023 and initiated their tribunal dispute in November 2023.
Ultimately, the tribunal ordered the strata to reduce the total fines to just $200 and dismissed the homeowners’ other claims.