A Burnaby strata has been ordered to get its governance ship in order after an owner appealed to the province's Civil Resolution Tribunal with a list of complaints.
Chui Wong, an owner at Crystal Manor at 9623 Manchester Dr., told the tribunal the strata was "generally ignoring owners' interests through its actions or non-action," according to a CRT ruling Monday.
Wong alleged the minutes from two annual general meetings were inaccurate; the 2022 AGM was held five months late and owners were not allowed to attend in person or electronically; the strata has not commissioned a depreciation report; and the strata was violating its own bylaws by not informing owners of strata council meetings and minutes in a timely fashion.
She appealed to the CRT for orders compelling the strata to have its year-end financial statements for 2022 and 2023 audited; to hold a special general meeting within two months; to correct errors in the 2021 and 2022 AGM minutes; to use its operating fund to pay for a depreciation report; to reconsider matters covered at the 2022 AGM; and to comply with the bylaws' timeframes on publishing a council meeting schedule and circulating council and general meeting minutes.
The strata said it was aware of its duties under the Strata Property Act and bylaws and "has performed them as best as possible," according the ruling.
The strata said COVID-19 concerns had impacted the 2022 AGM, and the strata didn't have enough money to fund a depreciation report.
As for informing members about council meetings and minutes in a timely manner as per the bylaws – "the strata argues its council members are volunteers doing the best they can, and any non-compliance is due to inadvertence," the ruling said.
But CRT vice-chair Garth Cambrey was not convinced.
He noted COVID restrictions had been lifted "well before the 2022 AGM was required," and he ultimately ruled the strata's 2022 meeting was invalid.
He ordered the strata not to enforce a bylaw it had amended at that meeting banning barbecues and to revisit the amendment at a special general meeting.
He also ordered the strata to get a depreciation report.
(A depreciation report tells a strata what common property and assets it has and what are the projected maintenance, repair and replacement costs over a 30-year time span.)
Cambrey noted depreciation reports are mandatory under the Strata Property Act unless they are waived by the passing of a three-quarter vote at a general meeting, and that didn’t happen at Crystal Manor in 2019.
Cambrey further ordered the strata to abide by its bylaws around informing owners about council meetings and council meeting minutes.
He dismissed the rest of Wong's claims.
The CRT is an online, quasi-judicial tribunal that hears strata property disputes and small claims cases.
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