Penticton strata to pay condo owner $17K after 7-year dispute over roof leak
A BC Tribunal has ordered a Penticton strata to hand over $17,000 to a condo owner following a dispute over a roof leak that took place seven years ago.
However, the $17,000 is a fraction of the money Marta Lillian Hunchak claimed Strata KAS82 owed her, according to a March 13 BC Civil Resolution Tribunal.
Hunchak had wanted more than $100,000, while the strata in its counterclaim argued it was Hunchak who owed it $38,000.
The issue dates back to 2017 when a roof leak occurred above the kitchen and living room of Hunchak's condo. The leak also affected two other units and a hallway and an emergency fix was done.
However, after that things got complicated.
"It is clear that the parties could not work together with the authorities to resolve these issues largely due to personality conflicts between Ms. Hunchak and the strata council president. I find this resulted in the parties becoming entrenched in their positions such that no repair work was done in (her unit)," the Tribunal ruled.
The decision said the leak uncovered that there was asbestos in the 1970s Church Street building and a report "strongly advised" that a new roof was needed. The strata was quoted $55,000 to have the repair completed.
Hunchak didn't live in the condo at the time, and it's unclear why, but her relationship with the strata broke down over the repairs.
Before the final repairs were done, Hunchak applied to the City of Penticton for a building permit to do interior renovations.
The strata accused Hunchak of doing the renos without first getting its permission, fined her $1,400 and had its lawyer write to her.
Somewhere along the way, mould was found in her unit and a small amount of asbestos.
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While the strata received $40,000 from its insurance and set out to do the work, the strata claims Hunchak wouldn't give it access to her unit to complete the work.
"I agree with the strata that Ms. Hunchak did not provide access to (her unit) for asbestos abatement in February 2020. However, that does not justify the strata completing asbestos abatement in other affected strata lots without further attempts to gain access to (her unit), which is what I find occurred," the Tribunal ruled. "I find the strata’s actions to gain access to (her unit) to complete the repairs and asbestos abatement were unreasonable. It made limited attempts to gain access and could have entered (the unit) on an emergency basis."
Both sides accused the other claiming they caused unreasonable delays in getting the issues resolved.
However, the Tribunal held them both responsible.
"I find neither party acted reasonably to address repair delays," the Tribunal ruled. "Ms. Hunchak did not follow up with the strata throughout 2020 and later demanded repairs be completed by the strata. The strata continued on with repairs to other strata lots based on a single or limited attempts to gain access to (Hunchak's unit)."
The decision went through a lengthy list of issues as both sides pointed a finger as to who is responsible.
While the Tribunal divided out which party was responsible for what, it decided that ordering the strata to complete the repairs to Hunchak's unit was not practical as "disputes will likely arise."
Instead, the Tribunal ordered the strata to pay Hunchak the $14,000 insurance money it received for the roof leak so she could complete the repairs herself.
While Hunchak argued for $50,000 for accommodation expenses for the years she couldn't live in the condo, the Tribunal dismissed her argument pointing out she wasn't living there when the leak happened.
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The strata claimed $35,000 in legal fees but failed to present any receipts so the Tribunal dismissed the claim.
The Tribunal also found the strata's $1,400 in bylaws fines were "unreasonable or unproven" and had them reversed.
While Hunchak submitted $12,400 in legal invoices the Tribunal ordered the strata to pay just $1,500 towards the condo owners legal fees.
Ultimately, the Tribunal ordered the strata to pay Hunchak $17,281 and for the condo owner to grant the strata access to her unit to complete some work.
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