Vancouver condo owners fight forced sales

August 24, 2017


Some Metro Vancouver condo owners are fighting the forced sale of their home as allowed under Bill 40, a change to the British Columbia Strata Property Act that came in last year.
Under Bill 40, 80 per cent of owners in a condominium project can vote to disband the Strata Corp. and sell the entire project, even if a small group of owners in the complex disagree.
In Vancouver’s hot multi-family market, some condo owners find that they can receive more money by selling the entire building for redevelopment than they would receive by selling units individually. Some owners in older projects are also concerned about high and ongoing maintenance costs.
In two cases this month, however, Vancouver owners plan to be in court to halt the sale of their condo building.
One case involves a 33-unit project in Vancouver’s West End. Another is for a 36-unit condo building in Kitsilano. Both cases will be heard in court in late August.
“These two back-to-back hearings will be important to sort out what the court is going to do [when opposing owners make arguments in court],” said Hammerberg Lawyers partner Steve Hamilton, who represents owners in both cases who do not want to sell their units, according to a report in Business in Vancouver.