B.C. renter awarded $5,000 after strata response to noise complaints found inadequate

A Lower Mainland renter has been awarded $5,000 after B.C.’s Civil Resolution Tribunal found her former strata did not adequately address months of noise complaints involving an upstairs unit.

Brianna Polden logged 110 disturbances between June 2023 and April 2024, including parties, yelling and loud television that sometimes continued until 4 a.m. She said lost sleep and exhaustion affected her health, work and university studies, and she ultimately moved out.

Tribunal member Maria Montgomery found the strata spent 10 months gathering information, attempting mediation and sending bylaw-infraction letters, but its measures were ineffective. A $200 fine was not issued until June 2024, about a week before Polden was due to leave.

Polden said she sometimes slept elsewhere out of fear or to get rest. The strata argued the noise might have come from elsewhere, including an alley or nearby pub, but Montgomery found that position unreasonable in light of video evidence.

The tribunal concluded the strata had a duty to investigate and enforce its noise bylaw, even when the tenant in the upper unit denied causing the disturbances. The award was for Polden’s lost quiet enjoyment of her home.