Dear Tony: Our strata corporation is only 28 months into its operations and we have run into some snags. The management company appointed by the developer was not continued at our second annual meeting, and the records that have been transferred to the current manager are insufficient for our operations. Everyone is at a loss how to proceed.
We understand that the owner/developer is to hand over warranties and documents at the first annual meeting (AGM), but there is no record of this activity at our AGM or in our minutes. The developer, who owns four commercial strata lots, advised they provided all the records to the management company, the management company claims they did not receive any documents.
We are wasting time chasing accusations. How do we move ahead?
JJL
The Strata Property Act sets out a clear description of the records that must be provided by the owner/developer at the first annual meeting:
“The owner developer must (a)place before the meeting and give the strata corporation copies of all of the following: all plans that were required to obtain a building permit and any amendments to the building permit plans that were filed with the issuer of the building permit; any document in the owner developer’s possession that indicates the actual location of a pipe, wire, cable, chute, duct or other facility for the passage or provision of systems or services, if the owner developer has reason to believe that the pipe, wire, cable, chute, duct or other facility is not located as shown on a plan or plan amendment filed with the issuer of the building permit; all contracts entered into by or on behalf of the strata corporation; any disclosure statement required by the Real Estate Development Marketing Act; the registered strata plan as obtained from the land title office; names and addresses of all contractors, subcontractors and persons who supplied labour or materials to the project, as required by the regulations; all warranties, manuals, schematic drawings, operating instructions, service guides, manufacturers’ documentation and other similar information respecting the construction, installation, operation, maintenance, repair and servicing of any common property or common assets, including any warranty information provided to the owner developer by a person; all records required to be prepared or retained by the strata corporation under section 35 of the Act; and any other records required by the regulations.”
Your strata corporation requires legal representation to formally request the records, the method and evidence they were transferred and if not delivered, a timeline to provide them. If they are not provided a strata corporation may take whatever means necessary to obtain the records and the cost may be collected by liening unsold units of the developer, in this case the commercial strata lots.
There is a very real incentive to transfer the records. If they have been transferred to the first management company, your claim will be with the Real Estate Council against the brokerage. The first year of every strata corporation is critical. Obtain the records and load them to a web site owned and managed by the strata corporation. They may be critical for future maintenance, renewals and warranty claims. Don’t assume someone has transferred records. Verify their existence.
Tony Gioventu is executive director of the Condominium Home Owners Association. He can be reached at [email protected]
