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Condo Smarts: Who is responsible for structural repairs?

Dear Tony: My wife, Betty, and l have lived in our townhouse for eight years. Our strata complex consists of six townhouses and 68 apartments.
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Tony Gioventu is the executive director of the Condominium Home Owners Association of B.C.

Dear Tony: My wife, Betty, and l have lived in our townhouse for eight years. Our strata complex consists of six townhouses and 68 apartments. Our building is on a hillside with the townhomes on the lower level, below the apartment building, adjacent to the river.

We have noticed a slight increase in the slope of our living room floor over the past few years, but the seriousness of the slope became obvious when we decided to upgrade our floors from carpeting to hard wood floors, which was permitted by the strata corporation.

The slab in the living room has dropped almost 1.5 inches, lower on the river side than to the hill side.

We contacted the strata council, which advised us it is part of the strata lot and not their responsibility to repair.

The several options offered us for raising or jacking the slab to a secure level involve the foundation of the units and external access.

The other issue we are addressing is the visible moisture seeping through the cold joint on the hill side of the unit.

Is there any way of determining who is responsible for this repair without getting into a nasty court or legal battle? These issues need to be addressed; we just to need to know who is ultimately responsible.

Mike C., North Van

Dear Mike: A frequent error in our industry involves the process of determining responsibility for repairs and liability.

Don’t assume that just because the issue is in the strata lot that it is automatically the responsibility of the strata lot owner. The designation of the property is the first step, but the more important second step is to read the strata corporation bylaws to establish responsibility, and the bylaws differ from strata to strata.

In your complex, the bylaws stipulate that the strata corporation is “responsible to maintain and repair the structure of the building, including decks, balconies, patios, foundations and drainage.”

The obligation for the structure of the building is included in the Standard Bylaws of the Act, and in strata designs that involve multi-family buildings, because the structure and drainage are collective and integrated systems.

Before any work is done, your strata corporation will want to investigate the changes to your buildings.

A consultation with a structural engineer would be an ideal place to start. And one of the first questions to ask is about the cause of the water seeping into the slab area.

It is possible that there is an under-slab water flow and erosion problem, which would result in the sloping floor you noticed in your strata lot. The problem might be limited to your home, or it could be affecting the other five townhomes as well.

The sooner this problem is remedied, the less expensive it will be to repair.

The real issue is going to be to determine whether there is actually a structural problem or if this is just the residual effect of poor construction, leaving you, the home owner, with the cost of levelling the floors for the hardwood installation.

Just don’t cover up the problem and hope no one will notice in the future.

Note: This week is the Shake Out. Everyone is advised to participate in an earthquake drill on Oct. 17 at 10:17 a.m. This is a good opportunity for strata corporations to review their emergency response and evacuation procedures. For more info go to : www.ShakeOut.org

Tony Gioventu is executive director of the Condominium Home Owners’ Association. Send questions to him by email: [email protected]. The association’s website is www.choa.bc.ca.