B.C. strata ordered to pay $16K over 'completely pointless' decision
A B.C. strata implicated in a BC Civil Resolution Tribunal decision had to cough up over $16,000 after what the tribunal called a “completely pointless” decision.
The claim by the applicant, a property management company in B.C., suggested that the B.C. strata filed liens on 11 strata lots that it owned (out of 68 in total) due to a “special levy.”
According to the applicant, this was unfair because the strata already knew that the property management company was going to be responsible for the outstanding amounts when refinancing.
The applicant claimed $15,950 in damages, which were the amount in legal costs it had to pay to have the liens removed.
In response to the claim, the strata said it followed the correct process, and asked the tribunal to dismiss the claim.
According to the tribunal decision, the strata sent the property management group 11 demand letters relating to the special levy on March 6, 2024. The letters were a warning that if it didn’t pay the levy within 21 days, the strata would file a lien. The property management group did not pay.
On April 10, 2024, the strata did some more investigating into the “delinquent accounts” to pursue collections. One strata employee said that they’d confirmed that the property management group had signed paperwork for refinancing and that the closing date was April 19, 2024.
An employee of the property management company, HT, said they were working on refinancing and to “hold off your forward to collection until April 19, 2024, so we have enough time to obtain mortgage proceeds and make payments for the outstanding balance.
On April 15, the strata filed liens on 10 of the lots, and the next day, the 11th lot. Letters that were sent to the property management company called on it to pay $1,450 in legal costs per lot to discharge each of the liens.
The property management company’s lawyer had sent funds to discharge all of the liens by April 18, 2024, a total of $15,950.
While the tribunal agreed with the strata that it followed the proper process, the property management company said the strata’s decision to file the liens when it was going to get paid anyway “was unfair.”
A strata meeting in 2025 proposed a resolution to reimburse the property management company, but the resolution didn’t pass. However, this meeting proved that the strata knew that the property management company was going to pay the liens.
“There is no indication that the strata believed that the refinancing might collapse. Even if there was, there is also no suggestion that the strata would have suffered any additional prejudice waiting 4 or 5 business days until April 19, 2024. In short, I find that the liens were completely pointless,” the tribunal said.
The B.C. strata was ordered to pay $16,175, which also included tribunal fees.