Help! My Strata Wants to Sell My Building From Under Me
In cities like Vancouver where the mantra is eco-density (which is actually an oxymoron as there is nothing ecologically friendly or sustainable about increasing density), every property developer and his dog is seeking out older three or four story strata complexes for redevelopment.
A strata council may believe the best decision is to dissolve the strata corporation especially if:
the strata complex is on its last legs;
the future cost of repairs and capital upgrades may no longer make economic sense;
the owners don’t have the financial wherewithal to finance the costs and upgrades; or
the neighbourhood is being redeveloped pursuant to a new “community plan” which is encouraging redevelopment.
However for anxious strata property owners caught in this predicament there are two very important things to be aware of:
Strata councils CANNOT unilaterally make any decisions regarding the dissolution of the strata corporation.
Strata councils CANNOT “sell the building” nor bind the individual owners of the strata units in the building to sell their units to a developer.
Prior to 2017, a unanimous vote of the existing strata property owners was required to allow the strata council to dissolve a strata corporation.
Last year the BC government changed that threshold to 80% of the strata property owners, doubtless as a concession to property developers who have donated tens of thousands of dollars to the liberal party of BC year after year.
As a result, a plethora of realtors and developers have been let loose on unsuspecting strata property owners in older buildings seeking to purchase their units, often one by one with a view to reaching that threshold.
Once the developer has 80% of the units it is pretty much game over for the remaining owners as it can effectively wind up the strata corporation on its own accord, regardless of the wishes of the remaining owners.
Image Source: Western Investor
What then should the owners of an older, low rise building do?
The first and foremost thing is to be proactive. Don’t wait until a developer or realtor is knocking on doors to solicit sales in your building.
STEP 1 Organize your owners. It is easy to break a stick, but difficult to break a bundle of sticks. Get the bundle in place right away.
STEP 2 Set up a Facebook page or website specific to the building so that all the owners can freely communicate with each other. Unfortunately in many cases when the strata council gets involved, it tends to both restrict and horde new information and then release it to the owners on a redacted basis as it sees fit. Strata council members may also be in a conflict of interest when they are offered extra incentives by developers to “make the deal happen.” Collectively the complex belongs to all the owners, so every owner should have full, unrestricted access to all available information.
STEP 3 Call a meeting of all of the owners to discuss your options. Find out who wants to sell and who does not. Develop a protocol for dealing with realtors and developers who attempt to solicit individual owners.
STEP 4 If there is significant interest in selling by a majority of the owners OR its evident that the community plan for the neighborhood is being changed to encourage much higher density, then get some expert legal and marketing advice (How does “winding up the strata” work? Are there other sale options, like selling 80% or more of the individual units to a developer at the same time? How do you find an interested property developer? How do you know how much to ask for our units? How do you find a good property appraiser? Can one law firm represent everyone? Should the same sale formula apply to everyone (i.e. 2X or 3X tax assessment value)? Should everyone get the same amount of “free rent,” to allow them to find other accommodation? What does a comparable unit cost “out in the market?”)
These are but a few of the questions to be asked and answered BEFORE anyone agrees to anything.
STEP 5 Get a real estate lawyer, an experienced realtor and an appraiser to attend an owner meeting to discuss the foregoing and answer other questions for the owners.
STEP 6 Have an appraisal done on the building based on what can be built in its place (the appraiser can obtain this information from city hall). When a property developer presents an offer and proffers am appraisal in support you will have something to compare it to.
STEP 7 Get a consensus on the procedure to market the building and whether the preferred route is to wind up or to sell off the individual units as a group and then engage a realtor or other marketing representative to market the developers for proposals.
STEP 8 When a proposal or offer comes in, call a meeting to discuss it with all the owners and negotiate your best deal. In my view, it’s best if every owner is treated identically, that is the same sales formula applies to each unit and each owner gets the same amount of free rent or other incentives (such as first dibs on a unit in the new building).
STEP 9 Sell the units directly to the developer concurrently and disburse the proceeds. If you can get a developer to buy 80% or more of the units in one coordinated sale, that will maximize the value for all of the owners and save you the expense and stress of having to make a court application to dissolve the strata corporation.
Needless to say if there is little or no interest in selling the complex, the protocol should be to have all offers go to a specified owner, the strata’s legal representative or other agent for a firm rejection.
If an acceptable offer comes in to purchase the whole complex (as opposed to purchasing individual units) then the strata corporation must be wound up. In such case the following procedure must be followed:
Notice of General Meeting to Consider Windup Resolution
At least 4 weeks’ notice must be given of a general meeting that includes a resolution to wind up the strata corporation.
Who must be given notice?
Notice must be given to every owner regardless of whether notice must also be sent to their tenant or mortgagee. Notice must also be given to every mortgagee who has given the strata corporation a mortgagee request, and every tenant who has been assigned their landlord’s right to vote. Notice must be given to these individuals regardless of whether a person has previously waived their right to receive notification.
Voting
Effective July 28, 2016, approving a strata wind up resolution requires an 80% vote of approval FROM ALL STRATA OWNERS NOT A QUORUM VOTE of those owners present at the meeting. Previously, passing a wind up resolution required unanimous approval, however, the BC government changed this to 80% to make it easier for strata corporations to wind up.
Voting to wind up the strata corporation is an important matter, thus all owners are eligible to vote despite any provisions in the bylaws making a strata owner ineligible to vote (i.e. if owner has unpaid strata fees).
The termination resolution will authorize termination of the strata plan, authorize the strata corporation to apply to the Supreme Court for termination orders and a vesting order authorizing the cancellations of the strata plan and winding up of the strata corporation; approve expenditures (funding for the lawyer, liquidator, liquidator’s legal representation, fees and commissions); and may also address miscellaneous matters like move out timelines or rent-free periods.
Court Supervision
If the resolution to wind up the strata corporation is passed, then for strata corporations that have more than 5 units, the strata corporation must then apply to the BC Supreme Court for an order confirming the winding up resolution. This must be done within 60 days after the resolution is passed. If the strata corporation has less than 5 units no application to court is necessary.
The application to court gives strata owners extra protection. The court in confirming a resolution to wind up the strata corporation must consider: (a) the best interest of the owners, (b) the probability and extent, if winding up resolution is confirmed or not confirmed, of the significant unfairness to one or more owners or holders of registered charges and (c) the significant confusion and uncertainty in the affairs of the strata corporation or of their owners.
There are many reasons why owners may oppose the winding up of the strata corporation, including: proximity of amenities, pets, safety of the neighbourhood, money put into renovations, health issues and proximity to medical facilities, strong ties to neighbours and neighbourhood, or their unit was purchased as a life home and they have no intention of selling.
However, despite the protection of court supervision, if the resolution has been passed, the Court will typically not interfere with winding up and confirm the resolution. If you are part of the minority who opposed the resolution, the court may not be the place to rest your hopes as there has been only one instance where a winding up resolution was not confirmed. In The Owners, Strata Plan VR 1966, 2017 BCSC 1661 (“Bel-Ayre”) the court did not confirm a winding resolution because of a technicality that the value estimates of the interest schedule which were an essential term was omitted.
The court has acknowledged that the debate on whether to wind up or not can be heated, passions tend to run high and usually the minority do not feel like they have been adequately heard (Strata Plan NWS837 (Re) 2018 BCSC 564).
However, the court tends to reiterate the words of the Honorable Madam Justice Loo:
“Just because members of the minority were intimidated to speak up and voice their concerns does not mean the majority of the process was significantly unfair. Property rights as a home should not be given greater emphasis in face of 80% or more owners who want to take advantage of the increased profits to be made as a result of redevelopment or rezoning.”
Language Barriers
Living in Vancouver, there are many families that don’t speak English. However, with regards to the process for strata dissolution not speaking/reading English may be an issue. In Strata Plan NWS837 (Re) 2018 BCSC 564, some owners made an application to court stating that since some of the information materials were in English only, and many of the owners only speak Cantonese, this rendered the dissolution process significantly unfair as not everything was translated.
The court was not persuaded by this argument. The Court found that it would place too much of a burden on Council to discover what each owner’s main language was and to make sure all the information was translated into the many different languages.
Conversion/ Interest Schedules
A conversion or an interest schedule must be approved and attached to the resolution. If a liquidator is to be appointed an interest schedule must be attached to the resolution, otherwise a conversion schedule is required. The Conversion/Interest Schedule must meet the requirements as to form and content.
The Schedule must:
State whether or not the Strata Corporation holds lands in its name
Identify the land by legal description sufficient to allow the registrar at the land title’s office to identify it in the records of the strata plan
List the name and postal address of each owner and registered charge holder
List all registered interests in land at the time of the resolution and as they will exist if the registrar grants an order in shares calculated according to the following formula:
Most recent assessed value of an owners’ strata lot
Most recent assessed value of all the strata lots in the
Strata plan, excluding any strata lots held by or on behalf of
The strata corporation
If there is no assessed value for the owner’s strata lot or for any strata lot in the strata plan, an appraised value that has been determined by an independent appraiser and that is approved by a resolution passed by a ¾ vote at an annual or special general meeting may be used in place of the assessed value for the above formula.
If a liquidator is appointed and an interest schedule is required, the interest schedule will have all the above information contained in the conversion schedule and in addition will have the name, postal address and interest of each creditor of the strata corporation who is not a holder of a registered charge against the land.
Submitting an Application to the Land Title Office
To cancel a strata plan the strata corporation must submit the following documents to the Land Title Office:
The conversion schedule,
A reference plan that shows the land shown on the strata plan and the land held in the name of or on behalf of the strata corporation not shown on the strata plan,
If the strata corporation has more than 5 units:
A Certificate of Strata Corporation stating that the winding up resolution has passed and the strata corporation has no debts other than the debts held by holders of registered charges
A copy of the court order
If the Strata corporation has fewer than 5 units and does not obtain a court order:
The written consent of all holders of registered charges,
a Form E Certificate of Strata Corporation confirming the winding up resolution has passed and the strata corporation has no debts other than the debts held by persons who have consented in writing to the winding up of the strata corporation
Any other document required by the registrar to resolve the priority interests of any registered charges against the land shown on the strata plan or to transfer title.
Registrar Order
If the registrar is satisfied, the registrar may order that the strata plan is cancelled. Once the order is made, the registrar must file the order, register indefeasible titles to the land referred to in the order and give each owner and registered charge holder shown on the conversion schedule a copy of the order.
When the order is filed, the strata corporation is dissolved. The owners are then tenants in common of the land and the personal property of the strata corporation is held in shares equal to the owners’ shares of the land set out in the conversion schedule.
THE MORAL OF THE STORY
DON’T WAIT FOR EVENTS TO CATCH YOU BY SURPRISE IF YOU LIVE IN AN OLDER, THREE OR FOUR STOREY BUILDING.
Whether you organize a mass sale to an interested buyer or seek a court order approving the dissolution of the strata and approving a sale to a developer, your best chance of getting the optimal result for all the owners is to organize early and act collectively.
This phenomenon is not going away anytime soon in BC, so forewarned is forearmed.
©Pazder Law Corporation (2018)
1410 – 800 W. Pender St. Vancouver, BC, V6C 2V6 Tel: 604 682-1509 Fax: 604-682-3196 plc@pazderlaw.com www.pazderlaw.com
Questions? Call Kenneth Pazder or Melissa Valana (604-682-1509) at Pazder Law Corporation anytime for a free consultation.
DISCLAIMER: The foregoing is not legal advice. It is presented for information purposes only. The sale or dissolution of one’s strata complex is important one which merits professional legal and marketing advice well in advance of making such a decision.
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