Kelowna strata acted ‘significantly unfairly’ in costly debacle over storage locker

A BC Tribunal has found a Kelowna strata acted significantly unfairly after a “mix-up” over a storage locker dragged on for years and cost $9,000 in legal fees.

The mix-up began when Kenneth and Mary-Ann Reddick bought their Valley Road condo in November 2021 and found that the storage locker they’d been assigned was occupied.

According to a July 14 BC Civil Resolution Tribunal decision, the couple asked their strata to clear the locker out, and they said they would do it.

Over the months the Reddicks made numerous inquiries about when the locker would be ready.

Nearly a year later, they hired a lawyer.

“(The) lawyer emailed the strata manager that resolution of the locker issue was urgent as their tenants… required storage,” the decision reads.

The strata then found numerous storage locker issues and that its records indicated the couple’s locker had been designated to another strata unit.

The strata then hired its own lawyer.

The couple were offered the use of another locker, and they accepted.

At the strata’s annual general meeting, a vote was held and passed, and the couple were given a different locker, almost 18 months after they’d bought the unit. The paperwork was then filed at the Land Title Office.

The couple then asked the strata to reimburse their legal fees of $3,200. The strata refused and offered $1,200.

Unsatisfied, the Reddicks took the strata to the Civil Resolution Tribunal.

The strata then counterclaimed, saying it was the Reddicks who owed it money for land surveyors and legal fees. It wanted $5,000.

“The evidence confirms the strata took almost two years to address the locker issue. I agree with the (couple) that the strata did not take meaningful steps to address the matter until they retained a lawyer, which was about 10 months from when they first raised the issue. I find the strata’s lack of action was unreasonable and could be considered significantly unfair,” the Tribunal ruled.

In the decision, the Tribunal went through the Strata Property Act and looked at how the lockers, which are classified as Limited Common Property, had been dealt with legally.

It found that the Strata failed to follow the rules when re-designating the storage lockers.

“I find the strata’s actions in this regard were clearly significantly unfair,” the Tribunal said.

The Tribunal found that the Strata had incorrectly registered the lockers with the Land Title Office and made numerous mistakes in dealing with the legalities of the lockers’ ownership.

“Based on this, I find the strata has not properly designated a different storage locker… for the exclusive use of the (Reddicks),” the Tribunal said. “In other words, the (couples) storage locker issue has still not been resolved.”

However, while the couple wanted $3,400 for legal fees and $1,900 for time spent dealing with the issue, the Tribunal wasn’t swayed.

“I agree with the (couple) that the strata took no meaningful steps to resolve the locker issue for about 10 months,” the Tribunal said.

However, the Tribunal said the couple’s lawyer had made numerous mistakes, and the issue of the lockers’ legal ownership still hadn’t been resolved.

Because of that, the Tribunal awarded 50% of the legal fees, ordering the strata to pay the couple $1,465.

The Tribunal dismissed the couple’s claim for the hours spent working on the dispute and the Strata for legal fees.

Ultimately, the Tribunal ordered the strata to pay the couple $1,730, including interest and fees.

The issue of the legal ownership of the lockers is yet to be resolved.