Legal services
Strata Lawyer Serving Burnaby
One owner may be challenging a fine. Another may have water damage and disagree with the strata about who should pay for repairs. Someone else may be trying to obtain records or understand how a bylaw was applied.
The building is shared. The legal issue still needs to be identified precisely.
A bylaw dispute begins with the actual bylaw
Obtain the current registered bylaws, the complaint or notice, council correspondence and any hearing request. A summary in an email is not a substitute for reading the text said to have been breached.
Fines involve procedure as well as conduct. Dates, notice, an opportunity to respond and council decisions should be documented. Keep proof of every submission.
Water damage creates several factual questions
Where did the water originate? Which property component failed? Who was responsible for maintenance? What did the insurance policies cover? Reports from plumbers, restoration companies, adjusters and engineers may answer different parts.
Photographs taken immediately are valuable. So are invoices, maintenance history, strata minutes and correspondence showing when the problem was reported. Avoid discarding damaged components if inspection may be required.
Records and decisions have processes
Owners seeking records should identify the document and relevant date instead of asking for everything. Strata corporations should preserve requests and responses. Council minutes can establish what was decided, though privileged material and privacy questions may need separate treatment.
Civil Resolution Tribunal proceedings involve defined claims, evidence and deadlines. Before filing, identify the remedy sought and whether the named parties and forum are correct.
Questions people often ask
What should I gather before discussing a strata matter?
Begin with the documents closest to the event and put them in date order. Include agreements, notices, correspondence, payment records and any deadline already provided. A shorter, organized record is usually more useful than an unexplained folder of files.
Does reading this page create a lawyer-client relationship?
No. This website provides general legal information. Advice depends on the facts, the applicable law and the documents in an individual matter.