Vancouver Condo Info » repairs

New Strata Rules

jeff — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 08:41:08 +0000

There are new strata regulations in BC, here’s the PDF and here’s an article with an overview:

In October 2009, the B.C. government passed the Strata Property Amendment Act, Bill 8. Under the act, many of the changes taking place were to be introduced by implementing regulations. Unlike Bill 8, which required the approval of the legislature, regulations are approved by provincial cabinet as an order in council. Within Bill 8, there were provisions that affected long-term planning and information certificates. Part 15 of the bill, applied to long-term planning, has just been adopted through the regulations as mandatory depreciation reports.

A depreciation report is basically a planning tool used by property owners (the strata corporation) to clearly understand what the strata is responsible for maintaining and repairing as part of its building system (a physical component inventory); the age of the building system; the projected life expectancy; when it should be planned for renewal; what it will cost when the time comes to renew the component; and how the strata will pay for it.

The new regulations provide a two-year window for strata corporations to comply with the mandatory requirement – by Dec. 13, 2013. Strata corporations of less than five units will be exempt, and strata corporations of five strata lots or more that wish to be exempt from the requirement must essentially pass a ¾ vote at an annual or special general meeting for each one-year period the depreciation report is required to be obtained.

Read the full outline in the Province newspaper.

This post was submitted by jeff.

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Water problems in New West condo

Kingston — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 17:47:10 +0000

Chilled wrote the following in this weekends thread:

Condo Boom?

I live in a high end New West condo that is approximately 3yrs old. They have recently had another major ‘flood.’ Fortunately I live on a floor well above the high water mark and my unit hasn’t suffered damage. Damages has been extensive. Being a renter I am not privy to the strata minutes, but I have had discussions with strata members and believe my information to be accurate.

“Defective expansion joints” are blowing out, causing main water lines to let go. Yikes!!! The strata has posted notices that “faulty expansion joints” are going to all be replaced.

Faulty? Yeah sure, probably installed by a “plumbers apprentice” without enough experience supervised by a journeyman who is hardly competent himself. As a tradesman myself, expansion joints just don’t ‘fail.’ Especially at an alarming rate and if they did, wouldn’t this be going on everywhere the product was installed leading to a subsequent recall?

Anyway, get this;

-the developer is the property management company
-the engineering company works for the developer
-the mechanical contractor works for the developer

Strata members tell me it is “warranty” but when I query them on who pays for the cleanup and restoration costs I’m told they are “not sure yet.” Basically, this will cost the strata hugh one way or the other.

Hey, any of the strata members reading this will recognize the building so read this carefully;

-call in a mechanical consulting engineer specializing in piping. You will have to bring someone in from out of province, maybe Alberta. The old boys club in Vancouver will prevent independent and impartial analysis
-FIRE the development company acting as the strata property management company. Do you see a conflict here as the building inches through the warranty period?
-take the engineering report to a legal firm willing to take the developer to task on this
-pursue the same avenue with all the other problems in the building. It is not normal to have the elevator service company on site as much as the mail man.

Finally, please stop telling us renters in the elevator “I wish I rent like you” as I know you drank the koolaid and made stupid decisions that will cost you for the rest of your lives.

But if you do happen to see the owner of my unit at an emergency strata meeting, please thank him for what is a huge rental subsidy.

Sign me,

Happily above the high tide mark.

This post was submitted by Kingston.

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The Sky is Falling!

Farce — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 03:48:48 +0000

Oh dear! The Sky is Falling! The Sky is Falling!

..oh, wait. Nope, that’s just water falling through the new roof at BC Place.

Stadium general manager Howard Crosley said a leak before the game sent eight workers onto the roof and several other leaks sprang up during the football contest.

“We did a number of temporary seals to get us to opening day, but there is still some more work to be done up there,” Crosley said. “It’s a welding process between two pieces of … fibreglass.

“Weather permitting, we hope to have that work completed in the next two weeks.”

Other than that, the renovated stadium is functioning normally, Crosley said, and only minor touchups will be needed from now on.

As for why 20 per cent of the concession workers didn’t show up for the stadium’s inaugural game last weekend, Crosley said some employees showed up for the one day of training and then decided they did not want the job.

More than 120 new employees have since been hired to fill the need, he said.

This post was submitted by Farce.

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Maintenance and safety standards for rentals

ttul — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 14:45:51 +0000

Like many VCI readers, I have been shorting the Vancouver property market by renting. And, like many renters, I have had to contend occasionally with landlords who take an all-to-casual approach to property maintenance. In this post, I’m going to describe a new legal method I have discovered which combines the Residential Tenancy Act and a Vancouver By-law to force landlords to fix certain maintenance and building quality standards that you may not have thought were “mandatory”. This includes things like ensuring there are enough electrical outlets in each room of a suite, or that the floors be properly levelled.

It all starts with the Residential Tenancy Act (RTA), which says in section 32 that

A landlord must provide and maintain residential property in a state of decoration and repair that (a) complies with the health, safety and housing standards required by law…

This is a very powerful statement, because it forces landlords to ensure that their properties conform to every building code, electrical code, maintenance code, etc.. in effect within the jurisdiction where the property is located. In the case of Vancouver tenants, this refers to any and all building maintenance by-laws, fire safety by-laws, electrical by-laws, etc.. as well as province-wide rules and regulations concerning buildings.

The City of Vancouver has an omnibus By-law simply titled, “Standards of Maintenance” (https://vancouver.ca/bylaws/5462c.PDF), which is “A By-law for prescribing standards for the
maintenance and occupancy of building sites within the City of Vancouver to ensure that such buildings and sites are free from hazard and are maintained continuously in conformity with accepted health, fire and building requirements.” This bylaw applies to, “all land and all buildings in the City, and, unless otherwise specified, the owner of said land and/or buildings shall be responsible for carrying out the work or having the work carried out in accordance with the requirements of this By-law.”

With that out of the way, let’s see how the RTA can be combined with By-law 5642 to force your landlord to fix certain things that you may never have thought needed to be fixed:

– Electrical Safety (see 5642 section 19)

+ Yes: Plenty of electrical outlets! “Every habitable room in a dwelling shall have at least one electrical duplex outlet for each 120 square feet (11.2m5) of the floor space; for each additional 100 square feet (9.3 m5) of floor space a second duplex outlet shall be provided. Every kitchen shall have at least two electrical duplex outlets which shall be on separate circuits.”

+ Lots of light! “Adequate levels of artificial lighting shall be maintained in good working order at all times as in Table 19A” — this includes specific lumens of light output in each type of room.

– Landlord storing his old junk in the back yard? Section 4 says, “All land shall be kept clean and free from rubbish or debris”

– Walkway old and cracked? Section 4 says, “Suitably surfaced walks shall be available on all land leading from the main entrance of each building to the street or driveway”

– Bed bug infestation? “If pests have infested land, or any building or accessory building on it, the owner of the land must eliminate the infestation”

– Breezy doors or windows? “Exterior doors, windows, skylights, and hatchways shall be maintained in good repair and weathertight.”

– Crappy floors? “Floors shall be maintained in a clean and sanitary condition, reasonably smooth and level and free of loose, warped or decayed boards, depressions, protrusions, deterioration or other defects which are health, fire or accident hazards.”

– Crappy walls or ceilings? “Interior walls and ceilings shall be maintained in good repair and free from holes, or loose or broken plaster that may create health, fire or accident hazards.”

The laws are there to protect us all. Don’t let your landlord convince you that he doesn’t have to fix the flaking plaster in your character living room just because “it’s an old house”. Show him the law, and get some fixing going on!

This post was submitted by ttul.

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The hidden cost of low condo fees.

wreckonomics — Thu, 26 May 2011 08:30:11 +0000

Shopping for a condo? You might not want to go for the one with the cheapest strata fees:

“This is a coming crisis that nobody is talking about,” said Chris Jaglowitz, a lawyer who specializes in condo law for Gardiner Miller Arnold LLP and a member of the Condominium Managers of Ontario. “You have all of these older buildings, and someone needs to pay for long-neglected repairs. And many people won’t be able to cover their share.”

That’s because condo buildings are owned collectively by the residents, and all repair bills are shared equally. Condo boards are able to levy special assessments in addition to condo fees to pay for projects. But the boards are made up of residents, who are sometimes motivated to keep fees low. And they serve short terms, which means long-term planning is often difficult.

Check out the full article in the Globe and Mail.

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Olympic Village buyers sue Vancouver City

rancid — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 05:29:08 +0000

There are now 62 buyers at the Vancouver Olympic village who are suing the city of Vancouver for what they claim is poor design and construction. This could be exactly why the City set up a shell corporation with no assets to sell these units after the developer went bankrupt. Remember that lawyers warning in the news a while back?

From the CBC:

A total of 62 owners involved in the lawsuit said their condos at the development — renamed The Village on False Creek — have a variety of complaints, including a lack of heat for four months. Others claim they can’t fit standard sized beds into their bedrooms or have leaky windows and ceilings.

And from CTV:

..He says that instead of the “extraordinary levels of luxury” promised in marketing for the Village, the owners discovered their suites aren’t much better than rental apartments.

In some cases, doors will slam into each other if they’re opened at the same time. In others, residents aren’t able to open their closet doors if anything larger than a double bed is placed in the master bedroom.

“Not being able to fit a queen-sized bed in a master bedroom is a major design flaw,” McMillan said.

Other residents have had problems with persistent leaky ceilings and faulty heating. A video released by the owners shows water dripping from light fixtures and smoke alarms.

“One guy’s had his entire ceiling ripped out because they can’t figure out why his heating system doesn’t work,” McMillan said.

Not much better than rental suites eh? Yeah I guess not. I made sure I could fit a king size bed in my master bedroom, and if my light fixtures started leaking or my heating system didn’t work I’d just up and move. It’s a good thing these people bought, since you can’t lose investing in real estate!

This post was submitted by rancid.

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Leaky condo music video

The Pope — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 09:11:49 +0000

I see that David Philip just posted this in the forum – A music video for that oh-so-Vancouver scene: the leaky condo.

From the video description on YouTube:

This just might be the world’s first Leaky Condominium Music Video. Repairing a leaky condo building can take months and months and months. So why not set it to music! Take it away, Rossini! Starring Jacob Breen.

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drip, drip, drip

The Pope — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 08:26:42 +0000

Like that battery-marketing bunny, the leaky condo crisis keeps going and going.

Owners in a 71-unit building in Cloverdale say their builder repaired some leak problems a few years ago. At the time, the work was covered by warranty.

But recent testing found moisture in the building’s walls, and homeowners learned that they would be hit with a bill of about $45,000.

For some owners, that was too much to handle, and they just walked away. Eight owners have yet to come up with the necessary cash.

“They’re going to be foreclosing. I have until the end of December to come up with any monies,” owner Shirley Hall said. “I guess I have to walk away from it.”

The building was built in the 90s, at the height of the leaky condo crisis. For 11 years, the province gave interest-free loans to those facing massive repair bills.

A 2008 report done for the government said that after 2012, anywhere from 14,000 to 24,000 leaky condos would still near repairs, and that the demand for loans would be high until 2017.

..but as you all know, that interest free leaky condo repair loan program has been axed. Housing minister Rich Coleman suggests taking out equity to pay for repairs saying “Even seniors can get reverse mortgages — they’re pretty economical”.

Hat-tip to Bizznitch for the link.

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Life in a leaky condo

The Pope — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 03:49:19 +0000

You’ve seen them all over Vancouver, from green mesh covered buildings in fairview to plastic shrouded condo towers downtown. But what’s it like to actually live in leaky condo thats being repaired?

A renter in Yaletown has started blogging about life in the green mesh: The Leaky Condo Chronicles is an interesting read about the inconvenience and frustration of living in an active repair zone:

Buzzing, vibrating, grinding noise jolted me awake at 8 AM. It’s really too bad that earplugs can’t block out the vibrations — they’re worse than the noise…

I think today is worse than ever before. They’re grinding down the concrete of the balcony right next door to us.

Mondays tend to be particularly bad anyway, probably because weekends are so nice and quiet, but I do think it’s true — it can’t get any worse than this — can it? Can it?

I need to run away.

You can find more misery at leakycondolife.blogspot.com

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repairs: 2292 w. 7th Ave.

The Pope — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 20:01:47 +0000

Another condo repair shot for the gallery, this one sent in by ‘anon’ who includes the following note:

This townhouse is on the corner of 7th and Vine in Kitsilano. This is a shot of repairs happening at the back and on seventh avenue. Currently the front of the building on Vine street looks much clearer, not sure if they’ve already done repairs there or if they’re still upcoming. This building also has addresses at 2302, 2304, 2306, 2308, 2310 & 2312 Vine Street.

Send your tarp and scaffolding covered condo repair photos in to vancouvercondo.info@gmail.com for inclusion in the photo gallery.

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repairs: 960 w. 6th Ave

The Pope — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 20:25:55 +0000

This unit in the building located at 960 west sixth avenue looks a bit like its got a shower cap on.. As if its just gotten out of the bath and is getting ready for a night on the town.

Send your tarp and scaffolding covered condo repair photos in to vancouvercondo.info@gmail.com for inclusion in the photo gallery.

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repairs: 948 w. 7th Ave.

The Pope — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 01:20:50 +0000

The fairview slopes has its fair share of leaky condos judging by the number of photos sent in. This shot from the batch that kingleaky sent in a few weeks ago is located at 948 West 7th Avenue, right in the heart of Fairview.

Send your tarp and scaffolding covered condo repair photos in to vancouvercondo.info@gmail.com for inclusion in the photo gallery.

update: here’s an additional close-up shot sent in by Doug R:

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repairs: 1233 1235 1237 1239 west 7th ave

The Pope — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 00:48:09 +0000

This is the backside of a development on west 7th ave, the ‘Casarosa’. Once the scaffolding and green netting is removed this is the side that will have the good view of downtown (unless that mushroom studios building in front is developed into something taller).

Photo credit to ‘kingleaky’. Send your tarp and scaffolding covered condo repair photos in to vancouvercondo.info@gmail.com for inclusion in the photo gallery.

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repairs: 1345 w. 6th Ave

The Pope — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 01:31:37 +0000

Ah, the Granville Island Village. This condo development is looking a little shy, hiding from the rain this winter under a clean white sheet of plastic sheeting. This development is across the street from the previous post and was also submitted by ‘king leaky’.

Got a shot of a condo undergoing repairs? Send it in for the condo repair gallery to vancouvercondo.info@gmail.com

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repairs: 1350 w. 6th ave

The Pope — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 18:47:35 +0000

‘king leaky’ sent in a batch of condo repair pictures from Fairview, a neighborhood particularly hard hit by the leaky condo debacle.Â I’ll be posting the others over the next couple of weeks, This first one is located at 1350 west sixth avenue and looks sort of majestic with its soaring scaffolding.

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repairs: 1201 Lameys Mill Rd.

The Pope — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 22:25:00 +0000

Ahoy there! This building at 1201 Lameys Mill Road has great views out to false creek near Granville Island and a somewhat nautical / pirate theme to the way its scaffolding and tarpaulins drape. Going by the name ‘Alder Bay Place’ these condos use a mix of traditional Vancouver green mesh and white tarps.

send your leaky tarp covered condo pictures for the repair photo album to: vancouvercondo.info@gmail.com

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repairs: 1188 Richards st.

The Pope — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 20:13:00 +0000

Asun sent in this shot of the residential tower at 1188 Richards currently under the leaky condo raincoat. Apparently this building was constructed with rainscreen technology.

The most recent info I can find on these apartments is in this post on pricetags from september:

on the matter of whether the designers and contractors of 1188 Richards have paid for the repairs, the answer isâ€¦ not yet. Legal action is being initiated, which involves restoring many of the entities involved to the provincial corporate registry as they were evidently dissolved to try to avoid liability. I wouldnâ€™t anticipate a settlement until the $8 million job is pretty much complete.

So its not just woodframe and stucco buildings that have water problems, concrete towers leak as well, and they’re expensive to fix.

send your leaky tarp covered condo pictures for the repair photo album to: vancouvercondo.info@gmail.com

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repairs: 1025 1027 1029 w. 7th ave.

The Pope — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 21:00:00 +0000

This little unit on west 7th in Fairview is looking sassy in blue with a bit of an ‘over the shoulder’ effect working for it. The flat roof says ‘I don’t give a damn about the weather’ while the stucco says ‘let the sun shine!’. This is a stylish and daring look, but I can’t imagine that the fully blue view from inside would be all that great.

send your leaky tarp covered condo pictures for the repair photo album to: vancouvercondo.info@gmail.com

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Repairs: 1234 W. 7th Ave

The Pope — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 20:36:00 +0000

Here’s a shot of a dapper white plastic balcony cover at 1234 West Seventh Avenue in Fairview. Looks like this one is getting some attention to its decks on the front. The clean white with wooden framing is a nice change from the dark green mesh or blue tarps you usually see on condo repairs. If we had a sunny day this would also provide shade to these suites.

send your leaky tarp covered condo pictures for the repair photo album to: vancouvercondo.info@gmail.com

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repairs: 3400 block west broadway

The Pope — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 20:36:00 +0000

I see that they’ve started taking down the tarps and scaffolding on the 3400 block of west broadway. The owners and neighbors must be breathing a sigh of relief, I believe the whole south side of the street has been covered for more than a year. How long does the average leaky condo rainscreen repair take in Vancouver? It seems like a lot of buildings are covered for a extensive amount of time.

Have we made it through the majority of leaky condo repairs in Vancouver yet? It seems like the vast landscape of tarps have started to recede somewhat from the fairview and cambie neighborhoods.

On a side note: if you have pictures of tarp covered condo repairs in the lower mainland I’d love to see them*. Email them to me with the address and any other info you may have and I’ll post them. Ideally I’ll build up a searchable database of condo repair photos that may or may not be useful when condo-shopping in Vancouver.

*clearly I am a freak.

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