Bylaw Complaints as Harassment

A somewhat typical response from Owners and Tenants to complaint letters we send on our clients’ behalf is that the Strata Council is “harassing” them.  Often, we are required to send multiple complaints because of ongoing problems within a suite (noise, pets, smoking, etc.) and rather than addressing the alleged bylaw violation, the subject of the complaint will allege that they are being targeted unfairly.

In what will surely come as a relief to some Strata Councils dealing with such responses, an Ontario court has ruled on a particular case that the complaint letters and fines do not amount to harassment.  Our friends at Lesperance Mendes Law have written an article on the court case and its implications, which you can find here.  We suggest reading it, especially in advance of the implementation of the Civil Resolution Tribunal.