Strata Advocate

"Do you think Strata Councilors need Criminal Record Checks before sitting on strata council?"

   Yes, I think there should be criminal records checks. I would like to know, if I am sitting on council with a convicted fraudster, for instance.

   Absolutely.

   No, at least not yet. In my opinion it's difficult enough finding responsible volunteers to sit on a strata council, with all the knowledge, time and commitment that that entails, without also having them submit to a criminal record check. My dream is to live in a society that doesn't milk volunteerism for all it's worth. I don't mind the concept, but the extent to which it is relied on, both in strata situations as well as delivery of social services, is ridiculous.

   Overkill, but agree should be required of anyone with financial signing authority, as part of the qualifying requirements.  probably should be a strata size exemption.  Our strata is 6 owner-residents, we know each other quite well.  not so of larger stratas after some size. 

Limitations on signing authority should also be developed by the council.  Some level of expenditure requiring explicit council approval each time.

Not absolutely neccessary, but couldn't hurt anything especially for those large complexes that handle huge sums of money.

At present, a CRC is required only in cases where the person is working with children.  I believe that persons convicted of fraud or other money crimes are not included.  These persons could be on a strata council, spending monies from the budgets. 

To bar these people from running for Council positions, wouldn't there have to be changes in the CRC system of monitoring.  What about privacy issues of those persons being exposed to their neighbours as having a criminal record?  Wouldn't these people always have to decline any nomination for Council?  What about people who are have credit problems or gambling addictions? I do agree that  that people in stratas need to take care about who is elected to Council and privacy concerns need to be addressed.

I guess that it is always nice to know if you are dealing with a (criminal) and there are many categories.  The idea of stratas conducting 'criminal checks' is absurd and whoever came up with this idea should give their head a shake.

Given the difficulty in attracting volunteers to Strata Councils, I would hesitate to ask for Criminal Record Checks and frankly, would hate to think we need them!!  Even more ridiculous would be asking for Criminal Record Checks on those people who are wanting to buy the townhomes in our Complex.  I don't think so.

This is a very provocative suggestion. It could further discourage owners from standing for council and further push stratas into the control of managers and real estate interests. Everything that is occurring in the strata domain is moving that form of housing further and further from the concept of a HOME. However------I recognize that many high rise strata buildings have very large budgets and the possibility of fraud is always a concern. Perhaps a compromise might be effected that only required criminal checks of council members in situations where a substantial budget is required--some figure.

Yes,I do believe that a Criminal Check must be done to ensure that owners 'holdings and monies are kept safe from frivolous spending or over-spending. The present system of By-laws can be altered by Councillors without much say by the owners or interested parties,and this practise has the Blessings of the Current Government.

Is someone suggesting those with criminal records should be unable to influence the management of their property. As much as I wouldn't like the idea that the council member beside has been charged with fraud, why should they not be able to help manage their own property. Perhaps, such people shouldn't be able to purchase into a strata in the first place. Then such people will not be denied a seat on council and they will be able to purchase property they can manage themselves.

No I don't think a criminal record check is appropriate.

Yes, I believe people should have criminal record checks before being allowed to sit on strata council.

I really can't say about the criminal check issue.  My only strata experience is with a duplex, and we have so much trouble adapting the strata legislation to a duplex situation..........    But I would have to say that in a situation where there is a very small number of units in a strata corporation, criminal checks sound as if they would impair the legal (and human) rights of strata owners.

Yes  and I wonder how it is allowed by the act that a person may sit on Council even though he is breaking bylaws, e.g.. storing a boat in the underground parking. I also think people should not be sitting on Council without passing a readiness test.  We have a twelve year Council member who can't identify a strata expense from an owner expense and didn't know patios are common property. 

Yes all strata council members  need criminal record checks...  they are running multi Million dollar corporations  where the funding for these corporations are CASH monthly payments not credit, not bonds  CASH......... and we have a Strata Property Act that does NOT designate that all trust funds have to be in accrual accounting and audited every year... so consequently we have approximately 20 billion Dollars floating around in unaudited trust funds in this province  and no where in the Western civilized world  with Democratic statute laws is there such a large amount of trust funds unaudited every year . 

So we are up to mega billions of Dollars that have been moving around for the last 20 years  in the economy of this province... totally unaudited..(nice feeder funds for the people who have managed to get the BC Province to pass legislation to protect their organizations) ...I can go on and on about the amounts of moneys that I have heard of that are missing from strata corporations... latest is about $300,000 that the property manager who took it is supposedly in Rio....In one of my little strata's  there is $60,000 missing  thanks to the strata council and not putting anything in the minutes or allowing owners to vote on the use of the strata funds.... even though the Strata Property Act is clear that anything over $3000 has to have a vote by the members owners of the strata cooperation........ it has been to a forensic auditor and because there is no precedent cases set before the court  - it just get ignored by the courts and lawyers 

The Cash in Cash out that the Real Estate Services Act allows property managers and stratas to use  invites every crook in the world to rip off strata corporations....- so we have kick backs, false statements and padded invoices, numbered companies that the property manger is part of to do contracts for  strata buildings.   As one person recently told me we have legislated corruption in the Strata Property Act and the BC Real Estate Services Act.... 

Ask any Law firm about trust funds,  ask any real estate firm about trust funds and we all have our horror stories of the real estate council of BC holding up our books for days and weeks because of a bank error of 2 cents or being written up for $5.78 for bank errors because according to the Real Estate Council of BC  dictates we cannot journalize a bank error... Yet these property management firms and strata councils takes our money with impunity and the government gives them more legislation to protect the cash flow from their  strata corporation feeder  funds  that make them wealthy without an audit. I know of one strata manager who took out $17,000 of contingency fund....and put in his general account and used for one year before he paid it out to the contractor,,,, Now if that had been a lawyer ( because by LAW  lawyers have to have to  have a comprehesive yearly audit on  trust funds)  he would have sat in jail like the Scalbiana affair from years back... but this property manager can " adjust" his cash in cash out books...... for the Real Estate Council's "spot audit"  and get away with it and be licenced to do so under the Real Estate Services Act.. 

I just attended an AGM and the Budget was presented as the financial statement and when I said that a Budget was not a financial statement I was told that I didn't know what I was talking about by the strata manager for a fairly large firm here in the lower mainland. 

These people who are protected by the Real Estate Services Act even got the Superintendent  of Real Estate removed about  4 years ago as a watch dog over strata corporation irregularity... I know because back then  I had them come out and check books where money were missing... Now we have to go the "court" where there is no precedent laws set... and because E&O is insuring the strata property management firms  strata owners are up  against $900 per hour lawyers  so in the end  the owners of the strata corporations  just have to "suck it up" and pay some more money to cover missing and stolen moneys out of their strata corporation's contingency fund because the strata property management firm is only "hired by the strata corporations" and have little if any liability for the missing trust funds under the new E&O  Insurance regulations.

While, once again, it seems like a good idea to require a ‘mandatory criminal record check’ for members of strata council, the fundamental problem for owners of condominiums remains: How do you enforce this with out an enforcement mechanism/regulatory body? What do you do if council decides to ignore such a possible provision and tells you to “go to Hell”? To my mind, this is at the root of most of the problems that owner’s face.  At this point, the only solution for owners that object to the laws being ignored, ignorance, or blatant refusal to adhere to the laws is to resort to the courts. Unfortunately, this is not an option for those of us without deep pockets. Furthermore, one cannot rely on the ‘expertise’ of the property agent.  While I have had the pleasure of working with a few excellent agents on council, more than a few are incompetent and know full well which side their bread is buttered on.

I think they need maturity checks before they sit on Strata Council.