Ex-Pitt Meadows condo owner avoids $37K in fines

A former owner in a Pitt Meadows condo building will not have to pay $37,000 in fines and fees, and $5,000 in legal costs because the strata botched how it notified him, said a ruling by the B.C. Civil Resolution Tribunal.

Zhong Ling owned a unit in Cedar Downs on 190A Street, but ran afoul of the strata council, which alleged he contravened its bylaws over short-term accommodations.

Ling denied the accusation, saying he rented out his unit to students on a long-term basis for his employer, Canadian Aviation College, a flight school that operates at Pitt Meadows Airport.

The strata started off by assessing $200 fines, but then escalated to $1,000 fines, plus move-in fees, eventually totally nearly $37,000, according to the B.C. Civil Resolution Tribunal ruling.

The problem, according to the ruling, is there wasn’t proper notice from the strata to Ling that it was hiking the fines.

“At no point did the strata advise Mr. Zhong Ling that it was considering applying the maximum $1,000 daily penalty for contravening a short-term vacation accommodation bylaw,” said the ruling. “$1,000 daily is a much steeper penalty than $200 or $500 weekly. Mr. Zhong Ling was entitled to notice that the strata was considering applying $1,000 in daily fines, and he did not receive that notice.”

The ruling said it was a moot point about whether or not Ling was actually violating the bylaws and so it made no determination of that.

Ling does, however, have to pay $400 in move-in fees.