A Burnaby strata that charged an owner nearly $25,000 for repairs to fix water damage caused by an upstairs neighbour's clogged deck drains has been ordered to reverse the charges and to do a better job maintaining is roof drains.
In November 2022, water leaked into Remi Dunaigre and Tricia Gail Desouza's townhome at Acacia Gardens in South Burnaby, damaging ceilings, walls, carpets and cabinets, according to a recent ruling by the province's Civil Resolution Tribunal.
The source of the leak turned out to be pooling water on a rooftop deck above Dunaigre and Desouza's unit caused by a clogged under-deck drain.
The strata got the problem fixed but then charged a total of $24,968.07 to Dunaigre and Desouza's strata account.
But they didn't think they should have to pay.
They appealed to the tribunal, arguing the strata was responsible for the repairs because it had been negligent in maintaining the under-deck drains.
They asked the tribunal for orders compelling the strata to reverse the charges and to schedule regular maintenance of its roof drains.
The strata, however, denied it was negligent, saying it had "acted promptly" to get the problem fixed and "had no reason to suspect the drain was blocked," according to the ruling.
Tribunal member Megan Stewart disagreed.
She ruled the under deck drains were the strata's responsibility to maintain and repair, and the strata had known about the importance of regular drain cleaning as early as 2017.
"While it was reasonable for the strata to ask occupants to monitor drainage on their LCP decks, I find cleaning the drains fell squarely within the strata's maintenance obligations," Stewart wrote.
She ordered the strata to reverse the nearly $25,000 in chargebacks and gave it 45 days to implement a regular roof-drain maintenance program.
She also ordered the strata to pay Dunaigre and Desouza’s tribunal fees.
The CRT is an online, quasi-judicial tribunal that hears strata property disputes and small claims cases.
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