B.C.B次元官网网址檚 housing minister says the province is doing its best to deal with an international problem, as she continues to be peppered with horror stories of huge increases in condominium insurance.

Opposition MLAs are highlighting the crisis of some strata property owners, facing double or triple rate increases, huge jumps in deductible amounts and in some cases refusal to insure at all. Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Selina Robinson says a bill before the B.C. legislature tightens rules for depreciation reports and allows the use of reserve funds to pay skyrocketing insurance costs.

The impact of construction and maintenance issues on strata insurance was highlighted in a report June 16 by the newly established B.C. Financial Services Authority. But examples from B.C. tell a different story, of new buildings with no water or other damage claim history facing huge increases.

Langley MLA Mary Polak said she can identify B次元官网网址渞ow upon row of brand-new townhomesB次元官网网址� that are facing huge increases. B次元官网网址淭his isnB次元官网网址檛 about depreciation reports,B次元官网网址� Polak told the legislature July 7. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not about maintenance.B次元官网网址�

One of those is the Prestwick townhouse complex in Langley, where the strata president was informed three days before the insurance came due that the premium was rising from $88,000 to $250,000. The complex is two years old and has no insurance claims, the president told the Langley Advance Times.

Robinson said the problem arose last fall and the government is moving as quickly as possible. But the COVID-19 pandemic has added enormous costs to the provincial budget, leaving few options to provide the immediate relief that opposition MLAs are calling for.

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Surrey-Cloverdale MLA Marvin Hunt described a constituent named Diana, faced with a 280 per cent jump in premiums that forced the strata to dip into their capital reserve funds to pay for it.

B次元官网网址淏ut thatB次元官网网址檚 not any kind of a solution,B次元官网网址� Hunt said. B次元官网网址淎s Diana says, B次元官网网址榳e canB次元官网网址檛 do that every year. WeB次元官网网址檒l run out of our fundsB次元官网网址�.B次元官网网址�

Abbotsford West MLA Mike de Jong said there are thousands of property owners across the province who face the same situation, with monthly strata fees growing larger than mortgage payments. Using capital reserves to cover insurance depletes the savings accumulated to keep up with necessary maintenance like replacing roofs, de Jong said.

tfletcher@blackpress.ca
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