A Burnaby apartment owner has been ordered to pay his strata nearly $7,600 for violating its no-pets bylaw.
The Chateau Lyon strata in Burnaby's Edmonds neighbourhood first emailed owner Mohammed Parwesh Khan about pet violations in March 2022, according to a ruling by B.C.’s Civil Resolution Tribunal Tuesday.
The strata said someone had reported seeing a cat entering his unit and warned he might be fined $200 for each anti-pet bylaw contravention.
Khan wrote back a few days later saying he and his wife had a cat for emotional support.
The strata began fining him the following month and eventually launched a complaint with the CRT, appealing for an order that would compel Khan to pay the $6,800 in fines that had piled up.
But Khan said the strata's attempt to enforce its pet bylaw against him was discriminatory because it had allowed pets in other units before and because he kept his cat for health reasons.
Khan had emailed the strata saying he and his wife had the cat for "emotional support," and a note from his doctor said Khan’s wife should be allowed a small dog or cat for "emotional reasons," according to the ruling.
The strata said the medical letter was not sufficient evidence for a bylaw exemption.
Tribunal vice-chair Kate Campbell agreed, saying both the doctor's letter and Khan's email were vague and didn't mention any particular diagnosis or reason.
"Many people find pets to be a source of emotional support, but that does not mean they are exempt from pet bylaws," Campbell said in the ruling.
Khan did eventually provide a letter from his doctor saying he was battling four serious medical conditions, including cancer, but that letter wasn't submitted until August 2024, a year after the strata launched its complaint.
Campbell said Khan didn't provide the letter until the fines had already been imposed, and it didn't cover the period of the penalties.
The strata admitted it had allowed an owner to have a cat in 2016 but said those circumstances were different: the owner was a woman in her 70s who was battling cancer and who had provided notes from her doctor and therapist along with a formal letter requesting permission before getting the cat.
The strata allowed it under the condition the cat remained inside.
That owner also had to provide a photo of the cat, so if it died, it couldn't be replaced, according to the ruling.
Campbell agreed the two cases were different, and it was reasonable for the strata not to have granted Khan a bylaw exemption.
Campbell noted the strata alleged Khan actually had three cats, and Khan did not "specifically deny" it.
She ordered Khan to pay $6,800 in bylaw fines, $536.25 in interest and $225 for the strata's tribunal fees.
The CRT is an online, quasi-judicial tribunal that hears strata property disputes and small claims cases.
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