this post was submitted on 23 Jun 2024
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B.C. strata fines owner more than $11K for installing heat pump (www.cbc.ca)
submitted 4 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)
  1. He needed approval before making holes in common exterior walls which are under the strata.
  2. The strata specifically prohibited air conditioners.

The corporation said the heat pump contravened a bylaw that requires owners to get approval from the strata before altering common property and another bylaw banning air conditioning devices.

I lived in a town house and added central air.. I had to summit the install plan from the installer and the noise db rating of the unit I was installing for approval. It was approved then I proceeded.

Sorry in this case the owner screwed up TWICE.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (2 children)

I can understanding not altering common property, but banning AC entirely is bullshit and quite likely a bylaw that wouldn't hold up to scrutiny.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

The strata is a legal corporation, the bylaws are binding as they are voted on at the AGM.

We have a no window AC law at our Condo. Reason being:

  • 100 units ruuning these would be noisy as hell in a woodframed unit.
  • dripping water from these units can infiltrate your wall, or damage structure below.
  • walls and windows are common property so it forces strata to maintain damages that aren't part of the Engineering Report , or not accounted for in Strata Fees.

You can use an inside portable unit though.

When we did have the sudden heatwave some people bought the window style anyway, strata recognized it was a health and safety reason and did not issue fines for that year, following years neesed to be proper type.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I've been in several stratas including multiple councils, and seen several taken to the courts part bullshit bylaws and lose. One strata actually tried to restrict people's ability to have a non-married partner overnight. That... did not go over well as it became obvious that the real target was senior members intent on driving out younger residents, as well as a bit of power-tripping.

By that same notion, yeah they can absolutely fine somebody for damage to common property etc during installation, and I've seen that happen (i.e. one resident knocked bricks out of they chimney to side-vent a gas-fireplace install) but an outright ban on AC installs when we're seeing growing heatwaves could likely see a successful challenge for personal health and safety reasons among others. Just depends on whether the resident has the time and resources to fight it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago (1 children)

With a properly functioning Strata they have a lawyer via the property management company that is consulted on bylaws legality before voting

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago (1 children)

LoL. Well across multiple cities in multiple provinces I've yet to see that. The only time lawyers were involved was when they severely fucked up (i.e. like the one where members were trying to skim funds or give contracts to friends/family), and the best "review" they tended to get off bylaw drafts were by the associated property management company, who were often far from professional.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago

I'm in BC. Our strata has lawyers on retainer through the property management. Ideas on laws get a run through to check legality, especial when dealing with an active tenant situation.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

Noise and maintenance is main problem. When you live on top of other people, you like do so without the screaming sound from a fan belt, or a bad pumpe vibrating the building, from your careless neighbor.

If the Strata is the designated from day one with heatpump, then they in my design plassed in technical room/areas where they are sound dampen and can easily be accessed by maintenance workers. With maybe water exchanger for hot water or a pool.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago

Yeah, it would have to be a proper install that balances stuff like this but if it went to court the council would likely also need to prove that it was creating an actual issue for the property/residents

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago (2 children)

This is messed up, on account of the fact that new construction units in BC are required by law to have AC, so him installing that unit, assuming it was done by a bonded professional, should be automatically approved. If it was done by some friend of a friend for beer money that’s different, but an efficiency upgrade by a qualified professional, I genuinely cannot think of a downside.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

A qualified professional should have asked if he had strata approval as it is common to summit the plans for approval before beginning work. The town house I last lived in allowed central air units but because they would essentially always end up RIGHT BELOW the bedroom windows of the adjacent unit they had restrictions on placement and the noise rating of the units.

This is fairly reasonable as some of the compressor units can be very loud, can you imagine sleeping with your windows open and then some loud AC unit kicks in all night keeping you up because you live so close to the unit that just installed one.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago

Yep! Fair points! Given the fact that BC had a wave of heat related deaths a couple of years back that I think kind of spurred on the mandatory AC in new construction laws, I still think a blanket ban on AC is bogus, but I can see where you’re coming from.

And also, yes, ensuring a client has strata approval before doing the work is a pretty bare minimum thing for a contractor’s professionalism and general… you know… lawsuit avoidance.

On the other hand, I feel like it’s a bit lazy on the part of a strata to just straight up ban something that can improve the efficiency and safety of a home. If there are noise restrictions, cool! I agree that’s a solid consideration, and that should weigh into the decision to approve or deny a particular request—and I don’t think it would be particularly difficult to say “approved units must be less than (X) decibels, and drawings/plans must be submitted alongside the installation request to strata for approval”.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Noise and maintenance is main problem. When you live on top of other people, you like do so without the screaming sound from a fan belt, or a bad pumpe vibrating the building, from your careless neighbor.

If the Strata is the designated from day one with heatpump, then they in my design plassed in technical room/areas where they are sound dampen and can easily be accessed by maintenance workers. With maybe water exchanger for hot water or a pool.