A White Rock couple fined by their strata for having a wind chime and hanging patio lights on their balcony has had the $200 penalty cancelled.
In a decision rendered Dec. 2, Civil Resolution Tribunal vice-chair Eric Regehr concluded the strata failed to follow correct procedure in imposing the penalty against Darrell and Patricia Utendale, and ordered the strata to reimburse the couple for $225 in CRT fees.
Regehr declined, however, to order compensation sought by the Utendales, including for "mental anguish, suffering, and stress" caused by the matter.
"I appreciate that the Utendales enjoyed their windchime," he writes. "However, even if the strata was wrong, 鈥� I find that living without a windchime is not a serious enough hardship to cause compensable harm."
The fine that prompted the CRT dispute was decided by vote following an Aug. 3, 2023 strata council meeting. It was sparked by a June 2023 complaint received by the strata regarding items the Utendales had added to their balcony, located on the top floor of a 39-unit condominium complex, identified online as Wedgewood Park on Foster Street.
According to the , the strata manager advised the Utendales in a letter that same June that the decor violated bylaws requiring the strata's written approval to alter a lot or common property, as well as one prohibiting owners from placing anything on decks, patios or balconies other than "free-standing, self-contained planter boxes, summer furniture and accessories," or installing hanging items "outside of a balcony railing line."
The letter did not mention potential fines but stated the strata would make a decision "as it considers appropriate" if the Utendales did not comply. The couple then took the items down and took the matter to the CRT.
In written submissions to the tribunal, the Utendales disputed the alleged breaches 鈥� noting the wind chime and lights were hung within the railing line 鈥� and denied altering "anything."
In ordering the fine cancelled, Regehr referenced a Strata Property Act requirement that obligates stratas to inform an owner if a fine is being contemplated. While a seemingly minor point, the SPA requirements "are strict and mandatory," the decision states.
Regehr declined the Utendales' request for an order allowing them to rehang the wind chime, as new bylaws approved by the strata in January 2024 clearly prohibit it, "at least as it was previously hung." He did, however, side with the couple regarding the rehanging of their patio lights, finding the current configuration between two patio umbrellas bylaw-compliant.
In addition to dismissing the Utendales' claim for suffering redress, the chair also declined to order compensation for expenses, interest and the time they spent on the dispute 鈥� they'd sought a total of $500, including the $200 fine 鈥� noting there was "nothing extraordinary about this dispute" that would warrant such compensation.
Regehr noted the couple didn't claim any expenses; and, as no evidence the $200 fine was ever paid was submitted, found an entitlement to interest was not proven.
