Strata Tip of the Week – How does the Civil Resolutions Tribunal (CRT) impact real estate buyers?

With the advent of the Civil Resolutions Tribunal for strata disputes in 2016, it became more accessible for strata owners and strata corporations to address conflicts and pursue legal judgements without the need for lawyers or the BC Supreme Court.

As per section 59 of the Strata Property Act, strata corporations are required to disclose any court proceedings, arbitration or tribunal proceedings to which the strata corporation is a party, as well as any judgements or orders made against the strata corporation, on the Form B – Information Certificate. If a Form B indicates some legal action, it is important that details be provided to properly assess the risks to buyers.

Prior decisions of the CRT can be found on their website by searching the strata plan number; however, this will not show any disputes that are still under consideration by the CRT or other legal actions, such as a human rights complaint or items that are not addressed by the CRT.

You can search CRT decisions here.

When it comes to strata corporations, the CRT has jurisdiction over most strata claims in BC; however, the CRT does not have legal authority to deal with certain matters such as claims with constitutional questions and claims involving the Human Rights Code.

The CRT is able to resolve a wide variety of strata disputes, including but not limited to: non-payment of strata fees or fines unfair actions by the strata corporation unfair, arbitrary or non-enforcement of strata bylaws issues of financial responsibility for repairs irregularities in the conduct of meetings, voting, minutes or other matters interpretation of the legislation, regulations or bylaws issues regarding the common property

 

You can visit BC government website here, for more information on how the CRT operates and what type of disputes it can address.

Disclaimer: The information provided is for general purposes only. It is not intended to provide legal advice or opinions of any kind. No one should act, or refrain from acting, based solely upon the materials provided, any hypertext links or other general information without first seeking appropriate legal or other professional advice.

Next week we’ll look at alterations within strata units, as reported on the Form B. If you have any suggestions for other topics you’d like us to cover, please let us know at [email protected].

A little about us:

1. We are a fully licensed brokerage under the BCFSA, and carry Errors and Omissions (E&O) insurance.
2. We’ve been in business since 2017 and have completed over 1,800 strata reviews to date province wide.
3. Our Review Advisors have firsthand knowledge and experience. They’ve all been practicing strata managers.

A little about our services:

FAQs: How do Condo Clear’s services work?
Pricing: How much do Condo Clear’s services cost?

Here is a Sample Buyer’s Review that you can look through. If you have some time, we would love to setup a quick chat, to talk more about our review process and go over any specific needs you might have.

 

Ryan Stenquist & Magurel Mic

Condo Clear Services Inc.

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