A man removed a pre-existing wooden storage shed from his strata patio and replaced it with a new one which resulted in complaints.
The BC Civil Settlement Tribunal told a Vancouver man to remove a garden shed, but also told the strata to remove fines against the owner for having the shed.
According to the Decision of April 22Daniel Latuszek had installed a custom-built log cabin on a limited common property (LCP) patio adjacent to his plot in June 2022.
Shortly after, the strata received complaints from other strata owners about the shed.
On several occasions, the strata warned Latuszek that the shed was violating various strata bylaws and fined him for his disrespect.
Latuszek sought an order voiding the fines, an order that strata enforce their bylaws on sheds consistently against all strata owners, an order that strata “educate” other owners about to its statutes and an order for the disclosure of documents.
In a counterclaim, the plaintiffs sought an order to have Latuszek remove the shed from his patio.
Board member Christopher Rivers said Latuszek removed a pre-existing wooden storage shed from the LCP patio adjacent to his strata and installed the custom-built one.
At the same time, he removed a large wooden planter box containing bamboo about three stories from the patio.
Rivers said the original shed was the same height as the new shed, but only about a third as wide.
“While the original shed and the new shed are the same height, and the planter box and the new shed are the same width and depth, the new shed is much larger than the other elements,” Rivers said. “Unlike the planting with bamboo, which allowed the light to pass through, the new shed completely blocks the fence. The roof of the new shed is so high that it rises above the floor of the balcony on the next floor on the next floor.
On June 17, 2022, the strata manager wrote to Latuszek that the strata had received a complaint about the new shed.
On July 14, 2022, the strata issued Latuszek two $200 fines for violating strata bylaws.
Rivers said the strata did not have the authority to issue the fines because he had cited the wrong statute section.
“I think the courts don’t have the authority to issue the fines and I’m ordering them to cancel,” Rivers said, citing the use of the incorrect section.
Latuszek argued that the new shed should be considered outdoor furniture, or a stand-alone planter box or container under strata bylaws.
“It’s a small building,” Rivers said.
The court found that Latuszek was not allowed to have a shed in the patio.
Rivers said there had been no complaints about other sheds. As such, this problem was not before him.
Rivers also found that the layers had provided all the documentation they were legally required to provide.
