BC strata ordered to pay back homeowner thousands in renovation fines

In a BC tribunal hearing, a strata was ordered to pay a homeowner thousands it levied in fines against him for renovation work.

Omar Francis sued his strata for $6,400, which he says were weekly fines that the strata charged him for unauthorized alterations.

Francis asked the tribunal to stop harassing him about unauthorized renos, stop demanding he return his strata to its previous condition, and stop delaying repairs to his strata “unreasonably.”

The strata denied treating Francis significantly unfairly, but this is what the tribunal decided.

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In August 2022, Francis emailed the strata manager because he wanted to update the kitchen cabinets, sink, lighting, appliances, bathroom carpentry, bathtub tiling, and toilet. He also wanted to add a new layer of drywall on the ceiling and replace the floors with engineered hardwood or tiles and carpet.

The manager asked Francis for the names of his contractors and the insurance and workers’ compensation details. Francis said he couldn’t hire a contractor if he didn’t know what work he could do but asked if the work could be approved in principle. The manager responded, “Overall acceptable.”

After that, Francis began renovations.

Francis also took other signs to mean that his work was acceptable, including times when the manager locked the elevator for him and inspected his flooring work.

However, Francis later realized that he was mistaken.

Between December 13, 2022, and July 18, 2023, the strata imposed 32 weekly $200 fines against Francis, totalling $6,400.

An additional $1,200 in fines were reversed.

Francis claims that the fines were imposed on him before he could attend a requested council hearing.

The strata expected Francis to restore his unit to its previous condition.

According to the tribunal’s decision, the strata breached an agreement by imposing renovation-related fines before Francis could respond to the complaint.

“So, I find the $6,400 in fines the strata imposed between December 13, 2022, and July 18, 2023, are invalid and must be removed from Mr. Francis’ strata lot account,” the tribunal said.

The tribunal ordered the BC strata to remove the $6,400 fines imposed on Francis’ strata account for his renovation work.