When changes to the Strata Property Act are enacted that alter the application, restrictions, and enforcement of bylaws, these changes apply to existing bylaws, according to Tony Gioventu. This principle is crucial for strata councils and residents to understand, particularly regarding age restrictions.
Question from a Penticton Condo Owner
A reader from Penticton writes: "I live in a condo with a bylaw limiting residents to age 55 and over. One owner has a live-in caregiver aged 35, and another has a spouse under 55. The strata council has become aggressive, giving notices of violation and threatening fines of up to $200 every seven days until resolved. Our council seems unaware that bylaws cannot override the Strata Property Act, which provides exemptions. Please clarify that their interpretation is not the only application for age restrictions."
Tony Gioventu's Response
Dear Cheryl: When the Strata Property Act is amended, those changes apply to existing bylaws. Similar updates have been made regarding pet restrictions, rental prohibition, and age bylaw accommodations. Age restrictions now include exemptions for various family members and services. A bylaw requiring residents to have reached a specified age does not apply to the following persons who meet certain criteria:
- Immediately before the bylaw was passed, the person resided in the strata lot and was not contravening any age restriction bylaw; the person continues to reside there after the bylaw is passed.
- A caregiver residing in the strata lot to provide care to another resident who is dependent on caregivers due to disability, illness, or frailty.
The regulations further define these exemptions: "child" means a person under 19; "specified resident" means a resident who has reached the age specified in the bylaw or is exempt; "spouse" includes married or marriage-like relationships. Exemptions also cover a child if one caregiver is a specified resident, a person 19 or older residing with a specified resident who was their caregiver before they turned 19, and the spouse of a specified resident (the person 55 and over).
Additionally, strata corporations must consider the B.C. Human Rights Code. Live-in caregivers are essential for seniors with disabilities and are exempt under the Act. Strata councils should not enforce bylaws in a way that discriminates or violates these protections.
Tony Gioventu is executive director of the Condominium Home Owners Association. Email tony@choa.bc.ca.
