Bathroom Fan, Range Hood or Dryer Vent in a Vancouver Condo: Strata Approval

The part inside the unit: fan, hood and dryer

A bathroom fan and a range hood are attached to the building. Section 9.1(1) of the Strata Property Regulation defines fixtures as "items attached to a building, including floor and wall coverings and electrical and plumbing fixtures". Standard Bylaw 5(1)(g) requires written approval to alter the fixtures the original developer installed. Replacing an original fan or hood therefore needs approval, even when the new one goes in the same place.

A dryer is on the regulation's list of excluded items. Dryers are outside the meaning of fixtures if they can be removed without damage to the building, so replacing a dryer in the same place, on the same duct, is outside item (g).

The same list names refrigerators, stoves, dishwashers, microwaves and washers, and ends with "other items" that can be removed without damage. Range hoods are absent from the named items. A hood fixed to a wall or cabinet and joined to a duct is attached to the building, so we name it in the request as a fixture.

The duct: when it is common property

The Act's definition of common property names ducts. It covers "pipes, wires, cables, chutes, ducts and other facilities" for a list of services that ends with "heating and cooling systems, or other similar services". Exhaust air is absent from the named services. We treat an exhaust duct as one of the similar services and write requests on that basis. Ask your strata how it reads the definition.

On that reading, two tests apply. A duct is common property when it sits inside a wall, floor or ceiling that forms a boundary of the unit, whichever unit it serves. A duct inside the unit is common property when it is capable of being used, and intended to be used, by another unit or the common property. A vertical shaft that collects exhaust from several floors meets the second test.

A duct that serves only your unit and runs in the space above your own ceiling falls outside both tests. Section 68(1) sets the unit's boundary midway through the structural ceiling unless the strata plan shows another line, so that space is inside the unit. If the developer installed the duct, it is still an original item attached to the building, and item (g) applies.

Work on a common duct falls under item (f) and under Bylaw 6. Bylaw 5(2) says the strata must not unreasonably withhold its approval. Bylaw 6 has no matching sentence.

The outside wall: openings under Bylaw 5(1)(b)

Reusing the existing opening and its outside cover keeps the exterior as it is. A new opening is a larger request.

Standard Bylaw 5(1)(b) requires written approval for an alteration that involves the exterior of a building. Under section 68(1) the unit ends midway through the structural part of a wall that separates it from the common property, so a hole cut all the way through an outside wall passes beyond the unit, and Bylaw 6 applies too.

A new vent cover on the outside changes how the building looks. The Province's page on common property says a resolution passed by a 3/4 vote at a general meeting must be obtained if an alteration will result in a significant change in the use or appearance of common property. Ask the strata in writing whether it treats a new vent cover as a significant change. The answer tells you whether the council can approve the request by itself.

What to ask the strata for in writing

Send these questions before you choose a fan or a hood.

The strata also holds drawings. Section 20(2)(a) of the Act required the developer to give the strata the building permit plans, and any document it held showing the actual location of a duct that it had reason to believe was placed differently from the plans. Section 36 gives an owner copies within 2 weeks of a request.

• Where does the existing duct from this fan, hood or dryer end: at the outside wall, at the roof, or in a shared shaft?
• If it joins a shared shaft, is there a fan at the top of the shaft, and what size of fan may a unit connect to it?
• Does the building have a bylaw on range hoods, dryers or exhaust fans?
• May a new opening be cut in the outside wall? If so, where, and what cover must be used so that it matches the building?
• Who cleans and repairs the duct and the outside cover?

What to put in the request

Describe all three parts: the item in the unit, the duct, and the place where the air leaves. Include:

• The make and model of the new fan, hood or dryer, with the maker's product sheet showing its air flow.
• The route of the duct from the unit to where the air leaves, marked on a floor plan, with the duct's size and material.
• Whether the duct serves only your unit, and which walls or ceilings it passes through.
• For a new outside opening: its place on the wall, its size, the cover, and how the wall will be sealed against water.
• Any new wiring, and whether it runs inside a boundary wall or ceiling.

Who repairs what later

Standard Bylaw 8(d) gives the strata the exterior of the building and the things attached to the exterior, including where they are part of a unit. Standard Bylaw 8(b) gives it the common property, which covers a shared shaft. Standard Bylaw 2(1) gives the owner the rest of the unit: the fan, the hood, and a duct that is part of the unit.

An agreement under Bylaw 5(2) or 6(2) can make you responsible for expenses relating to the alteration. For a new outside opening, ask the strata to state in writing who repairs the cover and the seal around it.

How we change a fan, hood or dryer vent in a condo

We trace the duct before we quote. That means finding where it runs, what it is made of, where it ends, and whether anything else is joined to it. The size and length of the existing duct go into the choice of fan, together with the maker's installation instructions.

Where the job allows, we keep the existing duct route and the existing outside opening. The exterior of the building then stays unchanged, and the request is limited to the item in the unit and its duct.

We seal each joint in the duct, support the duct along its length, and photograph it before the ceiling is closed. For a new opening, we follow the cover and the sealing method the strata approved, and we photograph the finished opening for the owner's file.