B.C. condo owner wins case against strata over Airbnb rules
A B.C. condo owner who thought she was prohibited from renting her unit out on Airbnb has won a case against her strata after a Tribunal found that there were no rules in place preventing her from doing so in the first place.
According to an Oct. 18 B.C. Civil Resolution Tribunal decision, Angelina Corona took legal action against Strata Plan VR 1166 in an effort to obtain permission to rent her unit on Airbnb.
The decision says Corona is having financial difficulties and requested an exemption from short-term rental restrictions from the strata to help her out financially.
The strata allowed Corona to rent her unit out as a vacation rental for a temporary period of one year, but the strata owners voted against extending the exemption any further.
The decision says Corona owes unpaid strata fees and the strata put a lien on the property and were looking to force a sale to collect the money.
In the meantime, Corona just wanted to rent the unit out on a short-term basis to make some money.
She launched the Civil Resolution Tribunal dispute in order to get the strata to extend the exemption.
However, in addressing the strata's bylaws, the Tribunal found nothing to restrict Corona from letting her place as a vacation rental in the first place.
READ MORE: Sunshade or windowing covering? B.C. strata loses legal case
The decision says the strata made several amendments to its bylaws in the last 20 years and in 2019 when it amended its bylaw about rentals it appears it didn't do its due diligence.
"The result of the amendment is that the only filed rental restriction bylaw was repealed, leaving no rental restriction bylaw, short or long-term, in force," the Tribunal ruled.
The Tribunal found that the strata had abolished, albeit mistakenly, its bylaws about short-term rentals in 2019 when it made the amendment.
"The fact that there were no restrictions on strata lot rental since April 2019 goes to the heart of this dispute," the Tribunal ruled. "In submissions, the strata says it permits rentals for periods longer than 30 days but I have found there is no such bylaw as none are registered with the Land Title Office."
"I find the strata’s bylaws do not prohibit or restrict rentals or licencing arrangements of any kind. Therefore, the strata was wrong to restrict Ms. Corona’s ability to allow others to use her (condo) for a fee," the Tribunal ruled.
Ultimately, the Tribunal ordered the strata to permit Corona to rent her condo as a vacation rental for as long as the strata’s current bylaws are in force.
READ MORE: B.C. condo owner fined $200 for having too many planters
To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer or call (250) 309-5230 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.
