Kelowna strata management firm fined $15K for not doing any managing

A Kelowna strata management company is on the hook $15,000 after it failed to do anything for a property it was managing.

According to a June 2 BC Financial Services Authority decision, property manager Robert Tomislav Zivkovic provided “inadequate” services to a West Kelowna strata, while charging them $2,940 a month.

The decision said bills went unpaid and the strata’s annual general meeting had to be cancelled after Zivkovic’s company, Associated Property Management, failed to do any actual management.

The regulator found Zivkovic had committed professional misconduct when he was the managing broker of Associated Property Management.

The decision said the unnamed strata had planned for its annual general meeting in May 2021.

“However, due to delays in Associated Property Management responding to their request to schedule, failing to provide member contact information, failure to distribute information to owners, and the Strata council’s lack of access to owner email accounts, they were forced to delay the meeting multiple times until July 2021,” the decision read.

The property management company also didn’t pay the invoices it was supposed to be looking after.

“The Strata almost lost contractors, and their landscaper informed the Strata that many invoices had gone past 90 days without payment from Associated Property Management and as a result, they would no longer be allowing a forgiveness period. The Strata gave instructions to Associated Property Management on multiple occasions between April and June 2021 to pay invoices that went unanswered,” the regulator said.

Clearly frustrated with the lack of communication strata members went to the Associated Property Management office looking for answers.

“However, R. Zivkovic was not available to meet with them and their request for a follow up phone call was unanswered,” the decision said.

The strata asked Zivkovic for the email addresses of all its members so it could inform them of meeting notices and bylaw letters but received no response.

The strata members hand-delivered the notices instead.

After three months, the Strata fired Zivkovic and hired a new strata management company.

It then complained to the regulator.

Zivkovic, who had been licenced for strata management since 2007, admitted to the conduct.

The decision said in March 2021, the Associated Property Management employee in charge of the strata left and the person slotted to take over was waiting for their licence to be transferred from their previous brokerage which never happened.

The regulator fined Zivkovic $6,500 and ordered him to pay a further $8,820, the equivalent of three months of strata fees.

Zivkovic has three months to pay the $15,320.

It’s not his first time in front of the regulator and in 2019 he was fined $4,400 for conduct that spanned from 2011 to 2017.

“Zivkovic expected and accepted remuneration from a person, other than on behalf of the brokerage in relation to which he was licensed,” that decision read.