Nearing three years since a pipe burst above their condo unit, the Prescotts have finally resolved the problem with their strata council.

Since filing a claim through the Provincial Small Claims Court in June 2010, the elderly Victoria couple won $8,000 in a settlement reached in August.

B次元官网网址淚t felt like winning the lottery,B次元官网网址� says daughter Deborah Groenheyde, who lives in Hawaii, but has travelled to Victoria to act on her parentsB次元官网网址� behalf.

The disagreement boils down to the quality of repairs to the damage in the PrescottsB次元官网网址� unit at 1715 Richmond Rd. The protracted and bitter experience cost $1,500 in legal fees and has left Groenheyde exasperated at the regulations governing strata councils in B.C.

B次元官网网址淭he whole strata thing is simply out of control,B次元官网网址� she said in an email to the B次元官网网址.

The province seems to be listening. In response to growing frustration by strata owners suffering unresolved conflict with their neighbours, the B.C. government has proposed a new approach to dispute resolution, which is open to public feedback until Oct. 31.

The idea is to create a low-cost tribunal, which doesnB次元官网网址檛 require people to hire a lawyer.

Deryk Norton, director of the Vancouver Island Strata Owners Association calls it a small, but positive step. HeB次元官网网址檚 optimistic the proposed tribunal will be an improvement over current options.

Right now, the avenues open to strata owners in dispute are to take the matter to court, which is costly, or arbitration, which is B次元官网网址渧ague and unpredictable,B次元官网网址� Norton said.

The governmentB次元官网网址檚 online discussion paper and survey on the issue, however, leaves Norton with several questions.

B次元官网网址淭he whole thing is silent on the accountability of condo developers and strata managing companies,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭heir actions could be at the heart of the dispute.B次元官网网址�

A management company could provide self-serving advice to a strata council that runs contrary to the Act, Norton said. B次元官网网址淚 run into that a lot, which raises questions about the ethics and the competence of the strata manager.B次元官网网址�

Similarly, he said, condo developers sometimes fail to hand over important documents, leaving the strata council with inadequate information about the building. Strata councils can then run into problems when itB次元官网网址檚 time to do maintenance.

The Ministry of Housing, however, disputes the gap in the tribunalB次元官网网址檚 jurisdiction.

B次元官网网址淥wner-developers could be subject to the proposed tribunalB次元官网网址檚 jurisdiction,B次元官网网址� said a ministry spokesperson in an email. Some complex issues, however, B次元官网网址渁re best heard by the courts. Some of these involve owner-developers of phased strata plans, and we are looking for input through this consultation on whether that is appropriate.B次元官网网址�

Strata managers, on the other hand, are regulated by the Real Estate Services Act and therefore not covered by the Strata Property Act.

There are more than half a million strata owners in B.C.

rholmen@vicnews.com