B.C.’s Civil Resolution Tribunal has ordered a Richmond strata to reverse $5,297 in charges to an owner’s account after it found he was not responsible for plumbing system problems.
In a May 26 decision, Yuangang Dai claimed the strata wrongfully charged back plumbing repair costs to his account. He claimed $6,000.
The strata, however, disagreed. It said Dai caused the strata’s common property pipes to clog by flushing cat litter down his toilet and was responsible for the bill of fixing the problem.
Tribunal member David Jiang said an invoice showed the strata hired a company in January 2023 to flush its kitchen horizontal drains.
“This removed food debris and grease from the pipes,” Jiang said. “No one detected cat litter in the pipes at the time.”
On May 28, 2023, another resident complained to Dai about their toilet being clogged and waste coming out of the bathtub drain and toilet.
The strata hired a plumber on June 6, 2023.
The plumber’s invoice and work order showed the plumber went to the strata’s parkade and found the bathroom grouping set of pipes. Inside, the plumber found cat litter and wood chips.
Another set of pipes was opened and more cat litter was found.
The strata was charged $5,297.25 for the work.
On June 15, 2023, the strata sent a letter to Dai with a copy of the invoice saying he was responsible for it.
Jiang said June 20, 2023 strata council meeting minutes showed the strata council reviewed the plumber’s report and determined that the backup likely came from a resident using the same plumbing stack flushing cat litter down the toilet.
“It decided Mr. Dai was responsible,” Jiang wrote.
The strata manager had visited the strata units using the same plumbing pipe system as Dai and found only he had a cat and still had it.
“On July 20, 2023, the strata sent Mr. Dai a letter refusing to reverse the chargeback,” Jiang said, noting the question before him was whether or not Dai was responsible for the problem.
Dai denied pouring cat litter down his toilet and said he knows better than to do that.
“He suggests that another person is secretly housing a cat in the strata, and they flushed the cat litter down their toilet,” the ruling said.
Jiang said the strata’s submissions did not accurately describe the comments in the plumber’s invoice and work order.
“They do not comment on the cat litter’s origin,” Jiang said, adding the strata’s submissions suggest that the plumber verbally reported to the strata that Dai was responsible.
“I find this is hearsay,” Jiang ruled, noting there was no evidence on how the piping systems connect or interact.
As such, he ordered the strata to immediately reverse the chargeback on Dai’s account.
The strata had claimed $4,146 for legal fees but as it was unsuccessful, the tribunal dismissed that claim.
