Last week I was speaking with a colleague who described an owner in a strata building who had an issue with a flood. The interesting part of the story was the people living in the unit were not the owners, instead they were tenants. This was news to the Strata Corporation as the building has a rental restriction bylaw and this owner had not been approved by strata to rent their unit. 

Owners must have permission to rent their strata lot from the council before they rent their unit. Permission can be granted in many forms, depending on who you are renting to. The Strata Property Act allows some Strata Corporations to have a rental restriction bylaw preventing an owner from renting without council permission. The act also has provisions allowing owners exceptions to rent to certain types of people even when the Strata
Corporation has a rental restriction bylaw.

Owner’s are permitted to rent to “family members” as described in the Strata Property Regulations. The regulations define “Family Members “ to include the immediate family of the owners. Immediate family being spouses, parents or children of one of the owners. These regulations exclude siblings, uncles and cousins as they are not “immediate family”. Strata Corporations may also grant permission to rent the unit to an owner who requests a hardship exemption. In January of 2010 the Strata Property Act was amended requiring the developer to identify a specific time on the Form J, “rental disclosure statement” stating when the unit’s rental period expires.

What happens when an owner doesn’t have permission to rent their strata lot and is in violation of a rental restriction bylaw? The Strata Corporation is in a position to identify the owner as being in contravention of the bylaws. If found to be in violation, they may impose fines up to the amount of $500. It could be determined that each day the unit is rented there is a contravention and it could be considered a continuous contravention of the bylaw which allows for a fine every 7 days.                      

Before you rent your strata lot. Find out if you need permission from the Strata Corporation to rent. Start by reviewing your bylaws to see if there is a rental restriction bylaw, then review the strata property act and regulations, review your form J which would have been provided with your purchase documents. Speak to a professional if you are unsure.  

Need assistance managing your rental property? contact us for an evaluation of your needs.

Cartref Properties specializes in managing rental units located within Strata Corporations.

www.cartrefproperties.com