Two groups of residents at a Surrey condominium high-rise are bitterly feuding in B.C. Supreme Court over who gets to manage the 180 strata units there.<\/p>\n
Justice Richard Fowler noted in his recent court decision both parties are \u201cembroiled in an unpleasant conflict\u201d over who\u2019s in charge at the 21-storey D\u2019Corize building at 13399 104 Avenue in Whalley.<\/p>\n
The dispute involves what the judge referred to as an \u201cOctober Council\u201d and a \u201cDecember Council,\u201d with each imposing fines or pursuing special resolution funds for litigation.<\/p>\n
\u201cEach council denies the legitimacy of the other, and governance has been nearly impossible for the past six months,\u201d Fowler noted. \u201cThe fact that governance of the strata has become nearly impossible and given the impassioned feuding that is obviously occurring between neighbours, it is incumbent on the court to adjudicate matters urgently.\u201d<\/p>\n
At an annual general meeting on Oct. 30, 2025 three owners were elected to the strata council. Shortly after that, a group of residents demanded a special general meeting for Dec. 1, 2025, but the \u201cOctober Council\u201d cancelled it, claiming it wasn\u2019t in accord with the strata\u2019s bylaws and Strata Property Act.<\/p>\n
Unhappy with this, the group calling for the SGM carried forth until an SGM was held on Dec. 23, 2025, during which the \u201cOctober Council\u201d was voted out and a new council of seven \u2013 the \u201cDecember Council\u201d \u2013 was voted in.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo express very simply what has become an extremely impassioned dispute, the October Council challenges the legitimacy of the December Council to manage the Strata, and the December Council continues to challenge the legitimacy of the October Council to manage the Strata,\u201d Fowler noted in his <\/a>reasons<\/a>. \u201cBoth Council now ask the court to approve their council and effectively invalidate the other.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom a practical perspective, the immediate effect of this dispute is that the strata, legally required to manage a large residential tower in which hundreds of people live, with an operating budget of approximately $800,000 per year, with a sizable reserve fund of hundreds of thousands of dollars, is inhibited in its functioning and distracted and embroiled in expensive litigation.\u201d<\/p>\n Fowler noted that police have been called to the building on multiple occasions to attend strata meetings. They haven\u2019t.<\/p>\n He noted the two factions \u201care intractably at odds\u201d and \u201cdo not trust the motives or intentions of the other.\u201d<\/p>\n Fowler declared the SGM held on Dec. 23, 2025 invalid. \u201cThe result of the votes taken are of no force and effect.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAs a consequence of this declaration, the strata council with the authority to act on behalf of the strata is the council elected in October 2025, unless I hold that the AGM held in October was also invalid.\u201d<\/p>\n Fowler noted that the \u201cdifficulty now faced\u201d by the \u201cDecember Council\u201d is it has challenged the \u201cOctober Council\u201d by filing a notice of civil claim and applications on behalf of the Strata. \u201cHowever, having set aside the results of the December election, the December Council cannot speak for the strata. It is, in fact, not the strata, so it cannot commence litigation in the name of the strata.\u201d<\/p>\n The judge ultimately decided to appoint an administrator to \u201cexercise the powers and perform the duties\u201d of the strata corporation pursuant to Section 174 of the Strata Property Act, noting that in certain circumstances, if deemed to be in the best interests of the strata corporation, he has the power to do so.<\/p>\n \u201cThe court must step in to ensure owners have confidence that their strata is being properly operated, Fowler noted.<\/p>\n \u201dI am satisfied that the evidence does establish that there has arisen an inability to manage the Strata. I arrive at this conclusion because it is apparent that, rightly or wrongly, a significant number of owners, as measured by the number of respondents to the petition, as well as the number who appeared at the December meeting I have declared a nullity, have concerns about the validity of the October election.\u201d<\/p>\n In light of the \u201coverwhelming evidence of entrenched mistrust, disharmony, and the overall tenor of the allegations and complaints made by, particularly, the December Council faction against the October Council, I have no hesitation concluding that only the appointment of an administrator has any reasonable prospect of bringing order to the affairs of the strata.\u201d<\/p>\n The court heard the administrator\u2019s fee is $225 an hour.<\/p>\n \u201cI see the appointment of an administrator as operating in this case as akin to an electoral officer, ensuring that the conduct of the election of the next strata council is conducted scrupulously, such that all owners can have confidence in the legitimacy of the next strata council,\u201d Fowler concluded. \u201cIn the meantime, by virtue of my appointment of an administrator, neither the October Council nor the December Council will have any legal claim to act for the strata council.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two groups of residents at a Surrey condominium high-rise are bitterly feuding in B.C. 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