Surrey woman ordered to sell condo over strata complaints

In what’s believed to be a first for B.C., a judge has ordered a condominium owner to sell her suite because of an avalanche of complaints from other owners.

The strata council for a condo complex on Guildford Drive in Surrey took an owner to court after hundreds of complaints had been made about her and her 20-year-old son.

The concerns about Rose Jordison and her son Jordy included excessive noise, abusive language, the uttering of threats and harassment that took place over several years.

Jordison, who moved into her suite in 2006, was fined $20,000 by the strata council over several years but failed to pay up or change her behaviour, so the council took her to court.

In a ruling released Friday, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Richard Blair said it was a “draconian” measure to order Jordison to sell, but necessary.

“The Jordisons’ actions amount to an assault upon those residents,” said the judge.

“I specifically conclude from the evidence that the Jordisons’ conduct, including their obscene language and gestures, their interference with the activities of others, their spitting at other residents, the unacceptable loud and unnecessary noise they in their unit created, have unreasonably interfered with the rights of others who are entitled to enjoy in peace the common property, the common assets and their own strata lots.”

Affidavits filed with the court include complaints about loud banging, pounding on the floor, doors slamming and screaming and yelling coming from the Jordison unit. Among the incidents described, two pictures were dislodged from the walls of a neighbouring unit, nails started to loosen in one ceiling and some water leaked from the unit.

One neighbour complained the son was making sounds like a pig, which she concluded were directed at her, and another reported that she’d been called a “fat cow” and given the finger.

Another resident said she was called a “f—–g b—h,” a whore, a “ho for a show” and another profane word for a woman. The resident reported that water was thrown at her as she was passing the Jordisons’ suite. Police were called but were reluctant to become involved in the dispute, according to the ruling.

“In some ways this was the death of a thousand cuts, because they’re individually just juvenile,” said Philip Dougan, a lawyer for the strata council. “But over the course of time, [there have been] hundreds and hundreds of times where you’ve been intimidated or sworn at . . . We just couldn’t believe what we were hearing.

“So we wanted to be sure that this wasn’t a couple of people who had it in for Rose.”

The Jordisons, in their responses to the strata council over the years, denied the complaints and called the fines illegal, threatening legal action.

Last year, Jordison filed a complaint with B.C.’s human rights tribunal, alleging discrimination based on a disability because, she said, the objectionable activities were caused by her son’s autism. But she withdrew the complaint without providing any evidence.

Dougan said he believes it’s the first time in B.C. a strata owner has been ordered to sell their unit over complaints of bylaw infractions.

“There are so many situations just like this one. In our office we call them the strata nazis, the troublemaker in any given building who is just making life miserable for everyone,” said Dougan.

“We think this could be a tremendous precedent for stratas to be able to deal with that type of person,” he said.

Tony Gioventu, a strata advocate who writes the weekly Condo Smarts column in the Sunday Province, said he’s aware of other situations where the strata council effectively forced the owners to move by banning them from the property.

“Collectively, these rulings do send the message that strata councils have the authority to protect the right of the owners to the quiet enjoyment of their homes,” he said.

But, he noted, such legal action is prohibitively expensive — Supreme Court cases cost tens of thousands of dollars.

The judge ordered Jordison, who did not appear in court to defend herself against the legal action, to list her unit for sale within 30 days and sell it within 90 days after that, or the strata council can sell it for her.

She could not be reached for comment Friday.

One resident of the building told The Province people living in it were relieved, but said she preferred not to comment further or to be named while Jordison was still living in the building.

Phone messages left with other residents named as complainants weren’t returned.

Source: The Vancouver Sun