Dear Condo Smarts: Our strata council is faced with an issue that is beyond our ability to resolve. One of our owners passed away several years ago and her son inherited the property. No one occupied the unit until last month when her son decided to move in.
We have been informed that this person is a registered sex offender. He has a number of restrictions and conditions that were placed on his release, including not being within 100 metres of a playground area. The scary part for our council is that his unit is in the middle of the townhouse complex, facing our playground area that is used daily by our resident children and their guests.
What do we do? Do we inform the owners and neighbours? Do we have to protect his privacy rights? Do we have to act as a strata council? Can we force this person to move?
A.J.
Dear A.J.: We often forget that, in strata living, we are faced with all the normal risks and perils of all types of residency. Before your strata council takes any action or provides any information to your owners, you must contact the police and authorities responsible for this person. They may be unaware that this person is in violation of his restrictions and may be able to intervene quickly to remedy the situation.
As a strata council, you may have a duty to ensure the safety of the residents and owners as well as protecting the interests of the strata corporation.
In this situation, there is the potential for two serious risks of liability that your council should consider in making those decisions and I strongly recommend first consulting with experienced legal counsel.
If you notify the owners and breach this person's privacy rights or give notice of incorrect or false information, you may be exposed to a lawsuit filed by that individual.
If you do not notify your owners and there is an incident as a result of not disclosing this information, you may be at risk of a lawsuit from the victims.
Either way, this is a perilous situation and you should immediately contact the police and the correctional authorities and speak with a lawyer who has experience with these situations.
Be it a benefit or a problem, the entire cross-section of humanity lives in strata corporations.
Tony Gioventu is executive director of the Condominium Home Owners Association. Send questions to him c/o New Homes section, Times Colonist, 2126 Douglas St., B.C. V8T 4M2 or by e-mail at [email protected]
STRATA SEMINAR
Learn how the real operations of strata properties function: The Condominium Home Owners Association presents a one-day symposium on strata living on Saturday, May 27, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., in Victoria. Speakers include representatives from the Strata Property Practice Group of Clarke Wilson Law Corporation, the Homeowner Protection Office and RDH Engineering, and condominium association executive director Tony Gioventu. Topics covered include general meetings, maintenance requirements of multi-family buildings, fraud prevention, building operations, major repairs and reserve planning. Cost is $50, including lunch. For more information, call the CHOA office at 1- 877-353-2462.