Water was leaking into one owner’s basement in a BC duplex strata in June 2018. The plumber’s quote showed the repair involved the whole building. The two owners disagreed on how to proceed and who should pay, and the owner with the leak says the neighbours wrongly delayed letting the contractors into their unit. The owner with the leak hired a lawyer, and later asked the Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT) to make the neighbours repay $2,738.74 in legal fees and to order them to stop harassing her. In Whiting v. Rolfsen, 2020 BCCRT 217, the tribunal dismissed the fee claim and said harassment is outside what it can decide. The repair itself was done once the plumber got in, and the two owners each paid half.
Below are the rules on access and repairs that both owners could have used in the first week. Our guide to repairs and who pays covers the rest of the building.
Whose pipe is it?
The Strata Property Act decides this by where the pipe is and what it serves. Pipes, wires, ducts and similar lines for water, sewage, drainage, gas, power and other services are common property if they are (s.1):
- inside a floor, wall or ceiling that forms a boundary between two strata lots, or between a lot and common property, or
- wholly or partly inside a strata lot, if they can be used, and are meant to be used, by another strata lot or the common property.
The strata “must repair and maintain common property” (s.72(1)). So a shared water line running under one unit to feed both is the strata’s job, and its cost is shared by unit entitlement, each lot’s number on the Schedule of Unit Entitlement filed with the strata plan (s.99). These two owners paid half each.
A pipe that serves only one lot and sits entirely inside it is part of that lot. The owner repairs it, except for the parts the bylaws give to the strata (Standard Bylaw 2(1)).
The entry rule: Standard Bylaw 7
Standard Bylaw 7 says an owner, tenant, occupant or visitor “must allow a person authorized by the strata corporation to enter the strata lot”:
| Situation | Notice | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency | None | To ensure safety or prevent significant loss or damage |
| Anything else | 48 hours’ written notice, at a reasonable time | To inspect, repair or maintain common property, common assets, and parts of a lot the strata must repair or insure |
The written notice must give the date, the approximate time and the reason for entry (Standard Bylaw 7(2)).
Entry without notice is limited to an emergency, to ensure safety or prevent significant loss or damage. For a planned visit, give the 48 hours’ notice in writing and keep a copy.
A duplex adds one step. The bylaw covers “a person authorized by the strata corporation”. In Siddons v. Gilzean, 2018 BCCRT 448, another duplex, the tribunal said Bylaw 7 “does not permit the applicant to enter into the respondent’s strata lot unless the strata agrees to it.” In a two-lot strata, the strata is both owners. So the first step is to have the strata, at a council meeting or by both owners in writing, authorize the plumber.
Section 77 adds a second duty for yards and other common property set aside for one lot: the owner using it “must allow the strata corporation reasonable access” to do its job.
What the tribunal decided in 2020 BCCRT 217
Tribunal member David Jiang decided the claim on February 26, 2020.
Legal fees, dismissed. The owner relied on three sections. None fit:
- Section 166 shares a judgment against the strata among owners by unit entitlement. There was no judgment.
- Sections 171 and 172 let the strata sue, with costs shared among owners, but only after a 3/4 vote at a general meeting. The strata never voted to sue, and the lawyer acted for the owner personally.
- The tribunal’s rule 9.5(3) says legal fees are not reimbursed in a strata dispute unless there are extraordinary circumstances. The tribunal found the dispute was “complex, but not extraordinarily so”, the lawyer’s work was “modest”, and access and payment were settled before any court or tribunal case.
Harassment, refused. Claims of harassment fall outside the tribunal’s strata powers under s.121 of the Civil Resolution Tribunal Act, so it refused to decide them. The tribunal noted the owner was free to bring separate claims about the strata’s email account and scheduling an annual general meeting.
What it costs when the repair is the strata’s
The strata pays for repairs to common property out of its budget or its contingency reserve fund (CRF), the savings fund for costs that come less than once a year (s.92). Normally that spending needs a vote first. Two rules let a strata act fast:
- Emergency spending. If there are reasonable grounds to believe an immediate expense is needed to ensure safety or prevent significant loss or damage, the strata can pay from the operating fund or the reserve without a vote. It must spend only the minimum needed and tell owners as soon as feasible (s.98(3), (5), (6)).
- Small spending. Without a vote or a budget line, the strata can spend up to the amount in its bylaws, or, if the bylaws say nothing, the lesser of $2,000 or 5% of that year’s operating fund contribution (s.98(2)).
In a duplex, one owner cannot simply pay a contractor and bill the other. In Hundal v. Deshaw, 2023 BCCRT 340, the tribunal said “There is no authority in the SPA for one owner to simply incur an expense on behalf of the strata and then require payment from another owner.” Get the strata’s decision first, even if it is two signatures on one page.
Water damage and the insurance deductible
Water escape is one of the “major perils” the strata’s property insurance must cover (Regulation s.9.1). The deductible is a common expense paid through strata fees (s.158(1)), and the strata can sue the owner “responsible for the loss” to recover it (s.158(2)). The strata can pay a deductible from a special levy or the reserve without a vote (s.158(3)). Our strata insurance guide covers what your own home policy should add.
A one-week plan for the next leak
- Day 1: stop the water. If water is entering a unit, that is an emergency under Bylaw 7(1)(a). Shut off the water and call a plumber.
- Day 1: tell your neighbour in writing. Say what is leaking, where, and that the plumber needs access. Ask them to agree, as the other half of the strata, to authorize the plumber.
- Day 1 to 2: give formal notice. If the work can wait, deliver 48 hours’ written notice with the date, approximate time and reason (Bylaw 7(2)).
- Record the decision. Write down that the strata authorized the plumber and how the cost will be shared, and have both owners sign it. That page goes into the strata’s records.
- Pay from the strata’s account. Pay common property repairs from the strata’s funds, and keep the invoice with the books (s.35(1)(d)).
- If access is refused. Ask council in writing for a hearing, which must be held within 4 weeks (s.34.1). After that, file with the tribunal, $125 online or $150 by mail. Our disputes guide covers the claim, and our duplex strata guide covers the other two-owner rules.
If you do hire a lawyer, plan to pay the fees yourself: under the tribunal’s rule 9.5(3), legal fees in a strata dispute are repaid only in extraordinary circumstances. For the full list of which parts of a small strata the owner repairs and which the strata repairs, see repairs: who pays.
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David Babakaiff, Co-Founder, VanPlex | PlexRank™ | Profit with Multiplex
