In an earlier post we wrote about a condo neighbours from hell.
This week, the B.C. Court of Appeal upheld a lower-court decision ordering Surrey resident Rose Jordison to sell her condominium suite after years of her son bullying the neighbours.
This is a case of statutory interpretation where two principles are opposed: the individual right of property and the right of quiet enjoyment in collective living arrangements.
The old adage “a man’s home is his castle” is subordinated by the exigencies of modern living in a condominium setting. InPrinciples of Property Law, 5th ed. (Toronto: Carswell, 2010) at 366, the learned author, Bruce Ziff, writes:
“Participation in condominium projects necessarily involves a surrender of some degree of proprietary independence. An owner is at the mercy of the rules enacted through the internal decision-making process. That is only logical. … Likewise, uses that directly and adversely affect the physical enjoyment of neighbouring properties need to be regulated. These are problems that occur in all communities, and one of the attractions of the condominium lifestyle is that there can be a measure of control over the petty annoyances that often occur in urban habitats. “
In an extreme case, which this is, where the subjects of the order have demonstrated an unwillingness to comply with an injunction, the court must have the ability to go to the terminal remedy of sale in order to fashion an effective remedy for the other strata owners. The appellants have repudiated the cooperative foundation of strata living and their intolerable behaviour has brought about the forced sale. There was ample evidence before the judge that only a sale would resolve the problem.
Is this the end of the story at last? Is there hope for the victims? Yes, there seems to be.
MORE READING: Condo Owners Throw Judicial Weight