Editor:
Being an owner of a condo is much better than being a renter, where landlords can make your life miserable with little recourse.
But being an owner isn’t all roses and sunshine if the people on your strata council don’t have anything better to do with their lives.
At the building where I live, the strata council is obsessed with passing petty rules as they try and micromanage our lives.
Take pets, for example. They allow pets, but only of a certain size, as though bigger dogs are somehow worse than smaller dogs. Small dogs are usually yappy and annoying, while most big dogs I’ve come across are gentle and friendly. But they passed rules on the height and then some of them wander the building with tape measures to check dogs they see in the hallway as their owners take them out to do their business.
They also have these strict rules for how long someone can park in a visitor’s parking spot. They passed a rule that sets the time at two hours maximum and this is now being challenged by the rest of the residents because it’s far too strict and I don’t think it’s even legal. Some of these guys (yes, it’s the men who try and act big and important on our strata council) are out there with timers watching the vehicles even though the visiting parking lot is not even full. It would be one thing if it was always jammed with cars but it isn’t.
They also passed a rule about talking in the lobby and common areas that is in no way legal and once again, some of us are planning to challenge this in court. You can outlaw people from talking in a building. Being unduly loud, yes, but not basic talking.
They've even cracked down on anyone displaying a sign supporting the Ukraine.
It’s all so exhausting.
F. Vanderwal, Burnaby
