A Burnaby duplex owner will have to foot half the cost of the next-door neighbour's new fence and retaining wall, according to the province's Civil Resolution Tribunal.
Ghannasham Bhide, co-owner of a unit in an Edmonds-area duplex, took his two-unit strata to the tribunal, saying the strata should pay for the $15,067.50 cost of replacing part of a perimeter fence and retaining wall located on his side of the property, according to a ruling last week.
The strata, represented by the unnamed owner of the other duplex unit, said the fence and retaining wall are not common property and the City of Burnaby should be responsible for part of the cost.
It also said the second duplex owner receives no benefit from the retaining wall and fence and doesn’t access that part of the property.
The strata further claimed the fence and wall were not maintained properly, failed prematurely, and needed only partial replacement.
In his Aug. 16 ruling, tribunal member Garth Cambrey noted duplex stratas face "unique issues" because of their size and makeup.
Both owners are strata council members, which means both must agree before the strata can do or decide anything, Cambrey said.
In the case before him, he noted the strata was also represented by the only other strata council member and owner, and that Bhide had had no say in the strata's response.
"I find it likely that the strata's position in this dispute is that of the (other) owner and not necessarily representative of the strata as a whole," Cambrey said, adding that he had kept this in mind while deciding the case.
In the end, Cambrey sided with Bhide, ruling that the fence and retaining wall were limited common property and that the strata is responsible for repairing and maintaining limited common property under the Strata Property Act because it has not passed its own bylaw making owners responsible for limited common property.
Cambrey said the strata's arguments were "without merit" because it was "extremely unlikely" the city would contribute to the cost; there was no evidence a lack of maintenance contributed to the repair needs; there was no evidence the fence and wall failed prematurely; and the SPA requires stratas to repair and maintain limited common property.
Since Bhide had already paid $15,067.50 for the repairs, Cambrey ordered to the strata to collect $7,533.75 from the owner of the second unit and pay it to Bhide.
Cambrey also ordered the strata to collect $678.01 in pre-judgment interest and $225 for tribunal fees from the other owner to pay to Bhide.
The CRT is an online, quasi-judicial tribunal that hears strata property disputes and small claims cases.
Follow Cornelia Naylor on X/Twitter @CorNaylor
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