Dear Tony:
What happens if nobody is willing to serve on a strata council. Like the abuse our elected officials are receiving, much of this also happens at the strata council level. Our council members are volunteers and every time they try to enforce a bylaw, address and issue with an owner or tenant, they are met with hostility, confrontation and threats. What steps can be taken to support our council members?
~Marlene, Penticton
Dear Marlene: There is certainly a growing rise of abuse towards people in leadership and responsible positions. Whether elected, appointed, employed or volunteers, the growing pressure has forced many good candidates to reconsider election or appointment to strata councils. The transition of home ownership and residency to higher density is a new life style for many Canadians. We cannot prevent disruptive and abusive individuals, but we can manage our strata corporations, business affairs and communications to reduce misinformation, abusive behaviour and costly conflicts in our communities. The best tool for strata corporations engaging owners and residents is communication. In my experience working with strata corporations across the province, the most successful and harmonious communities communicate with owners and tenants regularly.
They respond to inquiries in a timely manner, convene information meetings when there is major construction or a crisis, provide financial projections for major upcoming projects, and keep everyone educated on the bylaws and rules of the corporation. Crisis comes in many forms for strata corporations and owners. Deferred repairs dramatically compound costs, they result in losses generating insurance claims, deductibles, higher future policy costs, and they place owners in financial crisis, which is a stress and conflict flashpoint for everyone. The solution: provide strata councils with sufficient budgeting and reserve funding to ensure they have the resources to properly maintain, repair and operate your properties.
You referred to council members as volunteers, and volunteers require reliable and professional advice and support to manage your assets. Underfunding is a significant problem for many strata communities, and this is tied to the affordability of home ownership. Strata councils require legal and mediation support where there are conflicts.
If a council is being abused or attacked, don’t elevate the conflict, respond formerly; however, strata councils need to reach out to professionals for support. In extreme conditions, it may require legal action, police involvement, court orders, or the most extreme conditions an order for sale of the strata lot to remove the offending parties from the property. No one steps in to appoint a council if no one is not elected. Ultimately a court application by an owner(s) for an administrator is an option and may be required.
A strong group of owners rallying around their elected council members will send a strong message to confrontational individuals.