Every co-owner has rights and obligations, just like the syndicate of co-owners.
Living in a condominium can be a pleasure for some and a nightmare for others. Often, it all depends on one co-owner or the Condominium Corporation. One thing is certain, each co-owner has rights and obligations, just like the Corporation.
Thus, a co-owner, concerned about respecting the condominium rules, informs the Corporation that they wish to install floating floors in their private unit. Even before starting the work, they inform the Corporation in writing. Following this notice, the Corporation's manager visits the site and is given a sample of the membrane used.
A year goes by, the manager informs the co-owner that the covering was installed without written authorization. It is only after two years and seven months that the said manager asks the co-owner for access to their private unit to carry out an acoustic test.
Four years after the floor was installed, the Corporation's manager reiterates their request to the co-owner. Following the latter's refusal, the Corporation seeks a permanent injunction from the court to allow them access to the unit for acoustic tests. The court* rules that the Corporation's right is not a real right. It reminds that "the declaration of co-ownership is subject to the contract regime, implying that the parties can modify it formally or informally". The court dismisses the Corporation's request because the right to demand acoustic tests is not a real right and is subject to a three-year prescription period.
Following a co-owner's failure to comply with a rule, living in a condominium can become a nightmare for the other co-owners and the Corporation. That is why sometimes action must be taken instead of just thinking about it.
*CA 500-09-022354-120
