Canopy tent causes legal rift between homeowner and B.C. strata | Daily Hive

Not the actual tent in question (ENRIQUE ALAEZ PEREZ/Shutterstock)

A strata homeowner found herself in a dispute at the BC Civil Resolution Tribunal over a canopy tent she had erected on common property.

According to the case decision, the strata claimed that the homeowner had erected the canopy tent and placed several items underneath it, including boxes and other personal belongings. The strata contended that a second tent was erected at a later date.

The strata sought an order from the tribunal for the homeowner to remove her personal property from common property, including the tents and anything stored beneath them.

In response, the homeowner said she should be allowed to keep the tent on common property because it “beautifies the living environment.”

She added that the tent also provided entertainment facilities for the neighbours and didn’t address the alleged second tent. The homeowner has owned a unit in the strata since 2012, which occupies parts of the first and second floors.

“The strata’s photos show that the two tents are located on a grassy exterior fenced area, next to the building,” the tribunal decision notes.

According to the strata’s bylaws, a homeowner “must not display or erect fixtures, poles, clotheslines, racks, storage sheds, and similar structures permanently or temporarily on common property.”

In 2023, a resident from the homeowner’s unit had stored various items on an exterior balcony. The homeowner was instructed to remove those items within 48 hours, and she did so. However, soon after, in March 2023, someone had erected a large canopy tent and placed some of the items underneath it. The homeowner admitted to being responsible.

The tribunal decision notes that the tent was large enough to cover a “fair portion” of the yard.

“At the time, there were numerous items under the tent, to the extent that they pushed up against the tent’s roof. These items included cardboard boxes and Rubbermaid bins,” it adds.

A later photo from December 2023 highlighted that the tent was still in the yard. Another image, taken a whole year later in December 2024, showed that the condition of the tent had significantly deteriorated and had become “very dirty.”

The homeowner attempted to claim that the tent was “much nicer now” and provided a photo to support this claim. The tribunal stated that the submitted image provided a very narrow field of view, not representative of the overall picture. The strata called the photo misleading, and the tribunal agreed that the December 2024 photo was likely a more accurate representation of the overall state of things.

The tribunal ordered the homeowner to remove all of the items on common property within 14 days of the decision. The tribunal said the strata is within its rights to enforce bylaws and remove the items on its own if the homeowner fails to do so.

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