Strata corporation should take responsibility for balcony glass panels

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Dear Tony:

What happens when a balcony glass panel falls from a building?

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Our strata council has informed us that the balconies are part of the limited common property, and when bylaws were amended, there was a clause that stipulated: “owners are responsible for the maintenance and repair of all limited common property.”

This is not a component we had expected would be part of this requirement, and we don’t know what to do.

I have spoken with several owners who indicated they have had similar issues with the rails slipping and the glass panels hanging from the building. We are at an impasse with our council, and cannot use our balcony safely until this issue is resolved.

— Gerry W.

Dear Gerry:

Balcony assemblies are a part of your life safety systems on buildings. They require routine inspection, maintenance and upgrades over time. In your depreciation plan, there should be a detailed item that describes the systems, age, condition, projected renewals, and the requirement for maintenance, which occurs less than once per year.

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Maintenance includes the inspection of the systems holding the glass in place, the condition of the anchors supporting and holding those systems, the railings and their assemblies, and any flaws or failures of the glass. In most circumstances, window cleaning does not include the glass assemblies; as a result, there is seldom observation of the system conditions.

While routine inspection is preferred, a failed assembly indicates there may be other assemblies that are at risk. While your bylaws require owners to maintain and repair limited common property, it is only for those items that occur once a year or more frequently. Your bylaws identify the strata corporation’s obligation to maintain and repair those items on the exterior that include the doors, windows, wall assemblies, structure of the building, railings and glass panels and those items attached to the exterior of the building.

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To ensure safety, performance and affordability, I always recommend that building systems remain the responsibility of the strata corporation. They are usually a common asset or common property, the strata corporation remains in control of the standards of repair and maintenance, and negotiating on scale will result in the best pricing and terms per unit.

Next steps: There is clearly a safety risk. Time for your strata corporation to retain an engineer who will evaluate the failure and the condition of your balconies, and close access to affected balconies until repairs are complete. The Canadian climate is not kind to buildings. Wind, rain, extreme temperatures and salt all have an impact on fasteners, assemblies and glass.

Tony Gioventu is executive director of the Condominium Home Owners Association. Email tony@choa.bc.ca.

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