Dear Tony: Thank you for your column last week regarding levy refunds. Our strata council is holding a $1.1 million-dollar levy that was approved in the fall of 2022, intended for roofing, and has still not been implemented.
There have been many excuses, and while the owners have been patient, several owners have since sold their homes and are now challenging the validity of the levy and the holding of the funds. Is there a time period on a resolution for an approved project such as a special levy or if the owners have approved a significant amount of funds from the contingency fund for a project that was never undertaken? We fear the costs may have increased significantly with inflation and we’ll be faced with another levy to proceed with repairs. — R.
J. Ferguson, Metro Vancouver Dear R.J.
: When a strata corporation votes for a special levy, the owners have the opportunity to challenge the terms and conditions of the resolution and the levy, which include performance details of when projects will be undertaken, and the procedures being applied for procurement. For large projects such as this, the recommended method of securing competitive bids and performance assurances, bonding and insurance, is the creation of specifications by an independent consultant, a competitive bidding process for the contractors, and a cash management method that ensures the corporation benefits from short-term investments of the levy funds to offset some of the inflation and industry costs. Sp.