Friend in trouble - need help
 

Okay, I have this friend who lives in a condo unit. The unit doesn't allow pets under bylaw. Despite this, and against all better judgment, she picked up a stray from the cold with the intent to take it to the humane society.

Long story short, she got attached to the cat, couldn't bear to take it to the humane society (she was afraid it would have gotten put down), and now she's facing a $6500 fine.

Assuming she's gotten rid of the cat, is there anyway she can fight this? I'm really hoping someone can chime up on this. That fine is a make it or break it in her life and I'm insanely worried about her.

Thanks in advance.

Hi Albert..

Where did the random number of $6500 come from....seems extremely steep...I woud guess $250 .....

I'm no lawyer, but unless there is a loophole somewhere, this person *may* only be able to minimize their loses.

I am assuming that she owns the Condo?
is there a stated fine in the condo agreement?

I believe there is some kind of fine print. I'll have to check into that.

Anyway, the $6500 comes from a rather convoluted situation.

A couple months ago, she took a cat for her friend to babysit for a couple days. That was a clean "came and gone" situation. However, in the two days that it was there, someone spotted in the window. At that point, she got a warning for having the cat. When it came down to it, she didn't have a cat, but was then liable for a $50/day fine if there was ever a cat found on her residence.

Now this happens.

I know it was a poor decision, but it's a bit beyond lamenting about bad choices now, I'm just desperate to find this poor girl a bit of help.

The whole thing sounds ridiculous. From what you've said it sounds like she did the animal a great service by temporarily adopting it and providing it much needed shelter and care.

Whoever snitched on her deserves some serious karmic retribution. The snitch should have spoke to her directly, maybe there was mitigating circumstances about the cat's presense that the snitch didn't know about.

At $50 a day, $6500 is 130 days worth of cat time....

So what is happening with the cat now? Where is it?

She should really take a close look at her Tenant's Agreement. Things can get complicated if the condominium corporation has its own bylaws that govern things like no-pet clauses, etc. The issue may not even be the landlord's, but the condo corporation's. These facts would be good to know.

I'm unsure as to the $6500 amount. It seems rather arbitrary. Who is telling her this is what she must pay and why? Was this number included in the "fine print"? If anything, I would think she would be served an eviction notice (at a minimum of 14 days, not including the day of notice or the day of eviction).

Try calling Service Alberta (1-877-427-4088).

It's still at her house while she figures out what to do with it.

But yeah, that's pretty ridiculous. From there til now, she was fined for all the days in between.

Anyway, Neal, forgot to answer your question; yes, she does own the unit, but it's part of an apartment-style condo complex.

Will do, thanks Drew!

I would say she should speak to a lawyer, and have all her pertinent documents ready (purchase agreement, etc.). She can try the laywer referal and get a couple hours of free legal aid/services.

No problem, Albert. As well, as an owner (missed that part before), she should have a copy of the condominium by-laws where everything is stated in black and white.

the condo society would have to prove that she had the cat for those days.
they can't pull numbers out of the sky.
I think that they are just playing bully and that they have little or no case.
I would definitely consult a lawyer.
sometimes a letter with a lawyer's letterhead changes people's minds.

And meanwhile...get the cat out of there.

Okay, I'll try to find a lawyer once I get a hold of the fine.

Any recommendations?

Call the UofC (I think they have a legal aid deparment), and ask for legal aid. They will give you the local Calgary number for lawyer referal line.

If she owns the condo, she probably signed something agreeing to the condo corporation by-laws. That makes it a tough argument to get it completely thrown out. If the Condo corporation is convinced that she knowingly broke the rules, the chances of her getting away with this are pretty slim. Her best bet will be to try to appeal to the corporation and try to reduce the fine.

Now, this 130 days of cat ownership... did they arrive at that time by looking at her first catsitting offence and deciding that because she had a cat 130 days ago and has a cat now that she must have had a cat for the full 130 days? If so, one could try to prove that she was only babysitting the first cat for a few days and in doing so cast doubt on the amount of time that the second cat has been in the apartment, opening the door for a reduction of the fine.

Either way, if she's going to appeal to the board for a reduction or leniency the first thing she has to do is get rid of that cat. There is no way they will believe that she is sincere about regretting her decision to pick up that cat if she still has it and refuses to get rid of it.

Yup babysitting a cat for a sick friend:wink: for 2 days when it was seen and when it was seen again

If everything is on the Up and Up (as I'm sure it is) then I would give the Sun or Herald a call. It sounds like the kind of story they would run with.
Kevin

She needs to remove the cat from the condo asap! As soon as she became aware of the No Cat requirement, that cat should have been gone. If the cat is still there, she is seriously in contravention of the bylaw or act that they are enforcing. On top of that, she is Knowingly contravening the bylaw. She shouldn't flaunt it in their face if she wants them to go a bit easier on her.

Or CTV, I can soooo see that story on there.

I am a BC lawyer.
Have her phone the Canadian Bar Association
Lawyer Referral Service in the city where she lives and ask for a lawyer who deals in Condo's or Strata's whatever they are called in Alberta.
There is a $30 ish 1/2 hour fee.
Wayne Ryan

Thank you guys so much!

gl and "may the force be with you"

City by-laws cover public areas such as the hallways and party rooms,weightrooms etc.Not the private area of the home itself.
If she owns the condo,the condo society can't legally dictate what she does in her own property.I had a friend in the same situation,who hired a lawyer and that was the result.But that doesn't mean they wont make life difficult.
If she is renting,and the lease says no pets,then she would need to get rid of the cat or move.But as far as the fine is concerned,they don't have the authority to issue a fine.They can say "We are fining you,you have to pay"but its only lip service unless backed by a officer of the court (law).In this case she should hire a lawyer to clear it up,because the company may send the fine to collections,ruining her credit even though they have no legal right the payment.

I don't want to sound cold-hearted, but IMO the best way to help people is not to help people at all. When we "bail people out" they don't learn from their mistake and just screw up again.

Friends of mine rented their condo to a girl and had a no-pet clause. She got a cat and left it unattended in the condo for a week. The cost for new carpets etc. was in the thousands, she flew back to Hong Kong and didn't pay. I realize this is a different situation but I think people are responsible for their actions and need to be held accountable.

But she isn't renting. She is the owner of the condo. Totally different type of situtaiton.

However, on another note I do agree with you had the situation been different, and she had been renting, etc.

Man alive, the crap I hear from condo associations, makes me wonder why anyone would live in one. My sister-in-law lives in a Pointe of View condo with a condo association run by .. I don't know how to else to describe it ... insane people. Apparently, after 2, maybe 3 years after the building was built, they've decided that the whole complex needs to be re-stucco'd and they're trying to extort I guess about $6000 out of each resident or they will "foreclose". How can they foreclose??? They can't, but to even make the threat is just plain absurd.

Down in the parkade where the storage rooms are, I guess her neighbour's storage room got broken into, and the resident couldn't care less to get her door fixed. So of course my sister-in-law feels exposed because there's only a flimsy chain link fence separating the rooms and the neighbour couldn't be bothered to get the door lock fixed. What can you do?? Man, I couldn't live like that. And all it takes is for one smoker to drop a butt in bed and who knows what happens, or a toilet overhead to overflow .... nooooo thank you. Tease me all you like about suburbia and white picket fences, no worries. I feel so bad for people just starting off on their own these days what with the real estate prices being so ridiculous and the rentals being even worse... :(

Albert, I have no idea what to suggest, best of luck to your friend. I'm sure this can be fought, but I imagine it will be a very unfun ordeal.

*sigh*

The last condo I owned, they had a rule that if you kept a dog over 30 pounds, you would receive a $10/per month fine. So one guy had a huge dog, and has been paying the 10 bucks a month for years. Nothing else said about it. so not all strata corps are insane, but I've also heard really bad stories.

Since she really needs to get someone to take this cat quickly, she should try to contact a no kill or cat rescue. Keep in mind that many of these are so full it could take a few days for them to help out

here are a few links

http://www.frfa.ca/

http://www.meowfoundation.com/

just go to the giant tiger and buy dennis a chrome gun (fake or real depending if you go in the front or rear) a red dew rag and a tshirt with a dragon on it,then get him to park his caddie on the grass in front of the building and walk up and down the halls yellin who has a problem wit cats.
presto no more problems,ever

haha....you watch too many movies.

Condo rules, yah, my brother lived in one and someone put up a blind in their door window and everyone voted they had to take it down. It wasn't offensive, the rule was no blinds on the door.....

I have this theory about condo boards and neighborhood associations. You take somebody who is marginalized at work, unlucky in social situations etc and then elect them to a "position of influence" and they turn into these passive aggressive little attack bots that live to mess with other people. Normal well adjusted people have better thing to do with their lives. It probably explains politics at any level really.

I was renting a condo from a guy a few years ago at 16 st and 14ave SW. As a mere renter I had no input into the rules and the guy that owned the unit didn't have time for this BS as he had a life or something. So I get a notice that I will be fined if I continue to keep my bike on the balcony because it makes the building look trashy. We're talking about the balcony over the unpaved alley complete with crack heads, glue sniffers, overflowing dumpsters, a broken down 83 Yugo with 3 wheels and five couches in the parking lot across the way. My expensive mountain bike chained up on the balcony makes it look "trashy".

As much as it pains me to say it Albert your friend probably won't get out of this unscathed. A note from a condo lawyer like others suggested will probably get that fine down to something reasonable but she's got to give a little for the losers to save face. If she doesn't they're going to be after her for anything they can take a stab at.

Sell condo, buy something where SHE makes the rules. Would be a cold day in you know what before I bought a strata or condo like that. I lived in a townhouse once that had similar rules....like everyones blinds had to be same color, etc. Never again.. but then, I never play by the rules LOL

I would never live in a condo again becuase of the asinine "rules". The condo I owned had a one pet rule but I still kept 5 cats and two fish tanks :p

My condo was flooded once beauce two stories up a condo owner left their patio door open overnight on Xmas night and the baseboard heating pipe burst. Caused over $20,000 in damage. A year later a condo down the hall from me went up in flames.

Like Tony says it sucks that condos have become the new "starter home" for young people.

[quote=banditpowdercoat;280647]Sell condo, buy something where SHE makes the rules. =/QUOTE]

Nice idea, but not realistic. Selling your condo and buying a house, if you qualify, could double your mortgage, especially in urban centres. A condo in Victoria sells for an average of say, 250k, houses start close to 500k. Vancouver is way sillier than that. Some peole just can't buy houses yet, especially younger single people.

Okay, I've made picture files of the letters and contract:

Letter 1

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z...o/letter-1.jpg

Letter 2

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z...o/letter-2.jpg

Contract

http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z...o/contract.jpg


Of note is that she's never signed any contract as of to date. She just paid her downpayment, moved in and that's it.

Is there anything here I'm missing? I've contacted all the links here other than the University Law campus. I'll be heading there on Monday.

Nuts.

Time to get on the board herself and straighten the rest of them out.

if she never signed anything is she obligated to act under the rules??? serioiusly... she needs to speak with a lawyer. as for the 131 days... they are completely disputeable. 2 seperate cats in 2 seperate incidences. how similar are they in aprearance? was it the same person who saw them both times? if not its pretty difficult to prove on their part.