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Is this a strata issue, or a police matter?

On a fairly regular basis, we will receive complaints from strata owners concerning their neighbours. While most of them pertain to actual bylaws that have been potentially violated, many of them have nothing to do with the bylaws, and are not strata matters whatsoever.

Examples of police issues

Examples of this might be a verbal or physical assault, which is farily common unfortunately. While a verbal assault might not be pleasant, and it’s certainly something you don’t want to see in your strata, unless you can claim that it’s a “nuisance”, it’s not really up to your strata to deal with this.

It’s important to also keep in mind that Section 135 bylaw infractions can take a LONG time to deal with. The proper process must be followed, and this can take weeks if the offender asks for a hearing, etc. If something needs to be dealt with immediately due to danger, don’t send an email to your Strata Council or Strata Manager!

The best advice I can give is to call the police non-emergency line, as they have the powers to deal with issues in a timely and effective manner. Your strata corporation is really handcuffed to only dealing with EXACTLY what is laid out in your bylaws, and they must follow the somewhat painful Section 135 process for bylaw infractions, which can take weeks to enact.

Looking for some strata guidance? Reach out to us here!

Chris Stepchuk

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