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Strata (condo) owners could be subject to proposed new tribunal for resolving strata property disputes


October 26, 2011   by Canadian Underwriter


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Strata (condominium) owner-developers could be subject to the jurisdiction of a proposed new tribunal model for dispute resolution in strata properties, according to the B.C.’s Office of Housing and Construction Standards.
The province has posted a discussion paper online that outlines the reasons for proposing a new tribunal model for resolving disputes related to strata (condo) properties. The intention is to channel disputes out of the backlogged court system.
The jurisdiction of such a tribunal is still open for discussion. In a recent online post, the Office of Housing and Construction Standards noted that the proposed tribunal’s jurisdiction would include owner-developers of strata corporations.
“While the discussion paper does not mention them specifically, under the [Strata Property Act], the term owner includes owner-developers,” the online post states. “It is likely that certain complex or high stakes issues are best heard by the courts, and the discussion paper proposes a tentative list of these for public comment. Some of these involve owner developers of phased strata plans. As part of the consultation, we are happy to have input on what the appropriate jurisdiction of the tribunal should be.”
According to a flow chart of the proposed tribunal model, an applicant would fill out an application for dispute resolution online. The tribunal would review the application to make sure it has jurisdiction over the matter.
A telephone conference call would then be conducted, leading either to mediation (if the dispute could not be resolved over the phone) or information and/or a tribunal order resolving the dispute posted online.


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