BC resident sues strata after being asked to move air conditioning unit

A dispute between a townhouse owner and a strata corporation over an air conditioning unit ended in a legal battle at a BC tribunal hearing.

Tara Matthews, the owner of a unit in the strata, says that the building administration had approved the installation of an AC unit on the south side of her townhouse-style building.

Matthews claimed after the unit was installed, the strata instructed her to remove it.

Matthews wanted the tribunal to order the strata to let her keep the air conditioning unit where it was, or if it needed to be moved, to cover $6,000 in related expenses.

Meanwhile, the strata said it approved the installation of an air conditioning unit but not where it was installed and requested an order to force Matthews to move it to where it was supposed to go.

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Matthews signed an agreement that suggested the AC unit would be installed on the main deck and not on the south side of the building, where it ended up going.

The strata filed a counterclaim, asking Matthews to move the AC unit to the agreed-upon location, but Matthews said that would be “burdensome and unnecessary.”

Based on the tribunal’s decision, the AC unit that ended up being installed sounded like a Frankensteinesque contraption. It’s a “ductless mini-split” system, with hoses going in and out, requiring holes to be cut into the building.

The AC unit was installed in July 2021. The next month, in August 2021, the strata sent Matthews a letter advising her that it violated the agreement. Matthews claimed that the strata verbally agreed to the change, but there was no proof. Matthews also suggested camouflaging the AC unit, but both sides could not come to an agreement.

Ultimately, the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal agreed with the strata and found that Matthews needed to move the air conditioning unit. It also required Matthews to cover the strata’s tribunal fees of $125.