Dream closet huge headache for condo owner

The closet was already there when Serena Alibhai bought the condo.

If you buy a condo and the previous owner did something the bylaws don't allow, do you have to fix it?

That’s the question Serena Alibhai wants an answer to.

Alibhai says when she was out condo-shopping the walk-in closet of the unit she ended up buying was a big selling feature.

That dream closet turned out to be a huge, expensive headache.

About a year after Alibhai bought her condo, she says a neighbour complained to the Renaissance Condo board that her closet was illegal.

The board determined it was in fact built without a permit and encroached on the building's common area.

The board said it posed a fire hazard and ordered Alibhai to rip it out.

She refused, so the board sent in a contractor who walled her closet shut.

Now the board is demanding that Alibhai pay the $16,000 bill or it may pursue foreclosure.

"So my crime was, well I don't even know what my crime was, but I bought a piece of real estate and now I'm being punished for it.  I have to pay for things I never thought I'd have to pay for," said Alibhai.

Alibhai contacted CTV Calgary Consumer Watch Specialist Lea Williams-Doherty for help.

Lea asked the board why it is doing this when Alibhai did everything by the book.

The board said:

"...it is the owner of the unit who has the responsibility to rectify the situation.  The [board has] the authority and responsibility to do so should the owner fail to... the bylaws specify that the owner is responsible for the costs incurred. Since Alibhai inherited the problem from the previous owner she could consider seeking payment from that party."

Bernice Winter is the CEO of Condo Check and says Alibhai's estoppel certificate, a document all condo buyers get upon purchase, might protect her against the board.

The estoppel certificate spells out buyer's liabilities and if something isn't there, Winter says the board may not be able to force a new owner to pay for it.

"So that when you buy you know you're not gonna be blindsided by surprises.  If something did get past the board in the past, that becomes the board's concern with that past owner," said Winter.

Lea says that estoppel certificate can shed some light on when you have to pay for past owner's mistakes and when you don't.

She says it's intended to give buyers a status report on where they stand when they buy into a condo development.

It addresses things like, unpaid condo fees or special assessments or any items within the condo that don't conform to the condo plan for which buyers agree to take responsibility.

If a certain liability is not listed  in the certificate, buyers can argue that that prevents the board from collecting for it.

But Lea says, it often comes down to interpretation of the documents and that's when you need a lawyer.

(With files from Lea Williams-Doherty)