BC resident sues strata after her parking stall was rendered obsolete

The co-owner of a condo lost access to a parking stall after the lines were repainted, so she took her strata to court.

In a BC Civil Resolution Tribunal hearing, Kendra Lee Siemens sued Strata Plan EPS3699 in a dispute over a parking stall exclusively for her use.

Siemens took possession of the strata lot in October 2018. At some point in 2019, the parking lines were repainted, and her stall could not be reasonably accessed. Other cars blocked or impeded access to the stall, and a chain-link fence next to the stall did not allow the doors of a parked vehicle to open.

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According to the tribunal decision, the stalls were relocated two feet to the east and away from some stairs, and the move was to comply with fire code concerns.

The strata asked the tribunal to dismiss Siemen’s claims because it believed the dispute was between her and the owner or developer, not the strata. However, the tribunal did not agree.

All Siemens sought in the dispute was the return of a usable stall after her original stall was altered and unusable.

Contrary to what the strata stated about this being an issue for the owner or developer, the tribunal said the strata was “responsible for managing and maintaining common property for the benefit of the owners.”

The tribunal ordered the strata to return the stall to its original location, and if it couldn’t comply with City fire code restrictions in the relocation, to “make available other permanent parking arrangements.”

Until then, the strata was ordered to provide temporary usable parking arrangements for Siemens.

The strata was also ordered to reimburse Siemens $225 for tribunal-related fees.