Blog

With the ever-changing nature of global insurance markets and the related moving pieces leading to the local trend of rising premium costs, we have been looking to find unbiased third party articles and information to pass along to keep our clients informed and hopefully help make some sense of this very significant and mandatory operating cost. In this article, we offer some commentary on the insurance renewal process along with some information on the 2013 outlook for Strata Corporation Insurance in British Columbia.

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Earth Hour will be observed beginning at 8:30pm on Saturday March 23rd.  Anyone wanting to learn more about this global event can find information at http://www.earthhour.org/

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There are a number of excellent resources available on the internet, particularly those published by the Ministry of Housing, which answer some fairly basic questions about strata corporations.  A great example is the article we’d like to suggest for review below.  It explains one of the most fundamental concepts of the Strata Property Act – how strata fees are calculated.  Owners often ask us how their fees are arrived at, and whether or not there is something arbitrary at play.  This article explains the process for calculating Unit Entitlement (UE) which is the basic building block used to calculate all funds raised by strata corporations.

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Attached to every Annual & Special General Meeting Notice you will find a Proxy form.  The Proxy form allows an owner to appoint another individual to vote on their behalf at the meeting in the event that they themselves are not available to attend. The Proxy form is most often provided to a relative, a neighbour or a member of the Strata Council. A person provided the form is called a “proxy” and the person designating him or her is called a “principal”.

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Every so often, individual owners inquire with our office as to how they can arrange to place a resolution or other matter before their fellow owners for consideration.  More often than not, this request is for a ¾ vote resolution and it usually proposes controversial Bylaw changes which they’ve asked the strata council to consider, but which the council has declined.  Typical examples include changes to rental quotas, allowing pets or barbecues, and other such items.

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For the past two years, Stratawest has been proud to participate in the North Shore Christmas Bureau Toy Drive.  The support we’ve had from our staff and industry colleagues has been overwhelming, with many jumping at the opportunity to donate toys, musical instruments, gift cards, sporting equipment and other goods to needy families.

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Most strata council members are now familiar with the legislated requirement (Section 94 of the Strata Property Act (SPA)) that, with a few exceptions which do not apply to any Stratawest clients, every strata corporation in British Columbia must conduct a Depreciation Report by December 2013.

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There were a number of news stories published over the past week regarding a very common practice of Strata Corporations.  The gist goes something like this: most buildings have bylaws which permit the Strata Council to charge back the cost of insurance deductibles (and in practice, amounts below the insurance deductible) to the owner of a suite where damage originates.  The most common example of this is when water flows from one suite to others.  Some feel that this practice is unfair, but it is very common.

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Welcome to the new www.stratawest.com.  Please stay tuned for improvements to this website over the coming months, as well as this blog space where we will post information relevant to strata corporations in British Columbia.  Here you will find news about changes to legislation, industry developments and events, and informative articles about the Strata Property Act and related legislation.

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