Noce: How liable is condominium company for water harm loss?

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Query: I’m the president of our condominium complicated. There was a water loss in a third-floor unit that induced water harm in a variety of different items. The house owners within the broken items had been requested to vacate whereas the condominium company repaired the items. Sadly, it has been taking quite a lot of time and a few of the house owners at the moment are threatening to sue the condominium complicated for lack of earnings on account of their tenants not having the ability to stay of their items and for normal damages. Is the condominium company liable to those house owners? What can we do? Assist!

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Reply: Pursuant to part 67 of the Condominium Property Act of Alberta, any proprietor might carry a lawsuit towards a condominium company alleging “improper conduct” as towards the condominium company for non-compliance with the Condominium Property Act. If improper conduct is discovered, the courtroom can order damages, prices or some other order that the courtroom considers acceptable within the circumstances.

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Usually talking, an proprietor has the fitting to sue their condominium company, and they might use part 67 as their automobile to begin the lawsuit. To achieve success, an proprietor should set up that the condominium company had an obligation or obligation to do one thing and that the condominium company breached that responsibility or obligation.

In your instance, the condominium company has an obligation to insure towards the water loss. Due to this fact, the condominium company has an obligation to rearrange for and supervise the repairs to the items that had been broken on account of the flood. Additionally, you will must evaluate your customary insurable unit description, which can describe what the condominium company’s insurance coverage will rebuild or change following a loss. Issues that aren’t listed within the description won’t be coated by the condominium company’s insurance coverage.

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With respect to timing, condominium companies should act in an affordable time and with affordable effort. Clearly, every case will rely by itself info. If the condominium company can present that it acted on a well timed foundation, that it has its trades lined up and a timeframe to finish the work, that’s good proof to indicate that the condominium company is appearing fairly and is taking its responsibility severely. Some of these points typically activate the info and I might require extra info from you to provide you a definitive reply. The reply that I’ve given you is the final framework during which condominium companies should act when a loss happens.

Useful Trace: Condominium companies have a statutory responsibility and obligation to restore and keep frequent property. Condominium companies are additionally required to file the usual insurable unit description on the Land Titles Workplace to make sure that house owners are conscious of what’s going to be coated within the occasion of a loss and what won’t be coated. Due to this fact, companies will not be answerable for making or arranging for repairs to any enhancements that had been made to the unit and never coated by the outline, which can finally be the accountability of the proprietor. To house owners: you should definitely ask for a duplicate of your condominium company’s customary insurable unit description!

Roberto Noce, Okay.C. is a accomplice with Miller Thomson LLP in each the Edmonton and Calgary workplaces. He welcomes your questions at [email protected]. Solutions will not be supposed as authorized opinions; readers are cautioned to not act on the data supplied with out looking for authorized recommendation on their distinctive circumstances. Observe Noce on Twitter at @RobertNoce.

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