A White Rock man has lost his bid to get $72,000 in damages for alleged strata building vibrations he said were keeping him awake.
In her July 10 decision, B.C. Civil Resolution Tribunal member Alison Wake said former tenant Christopher Konrad claimed the strata failed to investigate the vibrations. He wanted damages for loss of use and enjoyment of the strata lot and common property due to the vibrations.
Konrad also claimed $1,000 in damages for the strata’s handling of his complaints, and $1,800 in damages for the strata’s alleged failure to hold a hearing he requested under the Strata Property Act (SPA).
However, the strata says that it complied with the SPA and bylaws and acted reasonably in addressing Konrad’s complaints. Accordingly, the strata said Konrad wasn’t entitled to compensation.
However, Wake did find the strata had not given Konrad the correct location for a meeting and awarded him $500 for its unfair conduct.
Vibration timeline
Konrad was a tenant in the strata September 2021 to August 2023.
He said it was at the start of May 2022, that he reported feeling vibrations in his strata lot which woke him up, sometimes multiple times per night.
He reported the vibrations to his landlords’ agent, the strata’s concierge, and the strata’s building manager.
On May 24, 2022, his landlords’ agent contacted the commercial property manager for Bosa, the strata’s developer. The agent asked questions about the vibration to determine whether it may be caused by activities in the commercial area.
Konrad described the vibration as soundless and varying in intensity and duration, lasting from 10 minutes to an hour. He said it happened at all hours of the night, and sometimes during the day.
The agent emailed the strata manager and advised that it did not sound like the vibration was caused by coring or drilling in the commercial area. The agent believed it was a strata matter, or maybe a matter for Bosa’s customer service.
On May 25, the manager emailed Konrad and the agent and advised that they had asked the building manager to look into the issue.
On June 8, following a further complaint from Konrad, the manager advised that they would be turning off the strata’s irrigation system for two days to see if that would eliminate the vibrations.
On June 13, Konrad advised that he did not notice any difference when the irrigation system was turned off.
On June 24, Konrad met with the manager and a technician from the strata’s HVAC contractor. Konrad described the vibration and suggested that it may be from a water supply booster pump.
Konrad said the technician advised that there were no pumps, fans, or other common property mechanical equipment near Konrad’s unit.
So, the technician concluded that the vibration’s most likely source was HVAC equipment in another nearby strata lot.
The strata said its concierge contacted the residents of surrounding strata lots, but none reported feeling similar vibrations.
Investigation suggested
Bosa soon said it could investigate but Konrad declined.
“He said that the strata was responsible for enforcing its nuisance and repair and maintenance bylaws, and Bosa had nothing to do with this enforcement,” Wake said.
In the following months, Konrad continued to submit complaint letters to the strata about the vibrations with dates and times. He said he didn’t believe anything in his unit was causing the problem.
Then, on Aug. 4, 2022, the manager sent a letter to Konrad’s landlords saying the technical company had reported that the vibrations may be HVAC-related, and that, because the HVAC system was under warranty, the owners were required to file a warranty claim with Bosa’s customer care representative.
“The letter said, ‘Please note that the strata corporation will not take any other step to investigate the reported unit vibration issue until the strata corporation is receiving a report in this matter from Bosa customer care representative,’” Wake said.
On Aug. 24, the landlords’ agent contacted a different Bosa representative and advised that they had received the manager’s letter and had been asked to contact Bosa.
“There is no response to the agent in evidence,” Wake said. “However, on Oct. 6, Bosa’s contractor reported to Bosa that they had attempted to contact Mr. Konrad multiple times but had not received a response.”
Konrad continued to submit complaints about the vibrations to the strata until April 8, 2023 when he moved out because of the vibrations.
Wake said Konrad called the strata’s actions “woefully inadequate” and unfair.
Still, Wake found the strata made reasonable efforts to investigate the vibrations’ source and that Bosa was willing to investigate.
The tribunal found the strata “provided multiple opportunities for Mr. Konrad to communicate with Bosa to arrange an inspection and Mr. Konrad repeatedly demonstrated his unwillingness to do so.”
Wake also found it was reasonable for Konrad to expect the strata to investigate but said he was not entitled to dictate the strata’s process in doing so.
“I find the strata made reasonable attempts to investigate the vibrations, as far as it could do so without Mr. Konrad’s further cooperation in the investigation,” Wake wrote.
