WHAT'S NEW
"BC Government leaving condo owners out in the cold"
In an October 15th Times Colonist article, Deryk Norton lays out the ways in which the provincial government continues to ignore the more than 600,000 voters living in strata properties. This article is one of many by Deryk in his efforts as a VISOA director to get your strata concerns into the media and to the attention of the BC government. Click here to read the article.
"Bill 8 Passes Third Reading"
On October 6 the BC Government passed Bill 8 - The Strata Property Amendment Act, 2009, without amendment. The Official Opposition made a motion to put the Bill on hold for 6 months for public consultation. However, the motion was voted down by Government Members including Vancouver Island MLAs Ida Chong, Murray Coell, Ron Cantelon and Don McRae.
Bill 8 can be viewed here. An updated commentary on the new legislation can be viewed here. Although this Bill falls far short of what is needed and is not based on a transparent consultation process involving strata owners, it will affect all strata owners. The legislation will come into effect through regulations yet to be determined by the Government. This may occur in stages, with some parts of Bill 8 (such as changes to section 143 of the SPA) coming into effect on January 1, 2010 and other parts coming into effect later. Please watch this website for further updates.
"Nanaimo Seminar Follow-Up"
Attendance at VISOA’s September 20 seminar in Nanaimo “Nuts and Bolts of Strata Council” exceeded our expectations and we thank you for joining us! However, due to the large number of attendees we did not have time to answer all your written questions. We made a commitment to answer them on our website – so here they are.
"Before You Buy A Condo"
Wouldn't it have been great to get some unbiased advice from existing condo owners before you purchased your first condo. Your Board has collaborated with Brian Smith of Nanaimo to create a website to provide this advice. It's called BeforeYouBuyACondo.com.
"Fall Seminars"
The seminar by Rudy Wouts on reserve planning is now scheduled for Victoria on Sunday November 22. More information click here and here.