Staying in Your Condo or Moving Out During a Renovation in Vancouver

Which work means moving out

The test is simple: at the end of each working day, does the unit have a toilet, a shower, a sink and a place to sleep that is free of dust? If the answer is no, plan to live elsewhere for that period.

The table applies that test to common scopes. The two durations are figures we published for houses on the North Shore. A condo adds the building's limits on working hours.

Hazardous materials: the unit stays closed until removal is confirmed

Section 20.112 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation requires a qualified person to inspect for hazardous materials before renovation work begins. If the report finds asbestos or another hazardous material in the areas the work will disturb, subsections (7) and (8) apply. Renovation work that may disturb the material waits until it is safely contained or removed, and a qualified person confirms that in writing.

WorkSafeBC's page on testing a home for asbestos gives the reason in one sentence: "Exposure to airborne asbestos can cause serious health issues for anyone working or living on your property." Its page on asbestos adds that a qualified person must certify that the worksite air is safe after the removal.

We ask owners to be out of the unit from the day removal starts until that written confirmation arrives. The confirmation is kept in the unit with the inspection report, as section 20.112(4) requires.

Dust from tile and concrete

Cutting tile or concrete releases silica dust. WorkSafeBC says the dust can cause silicosis, a lung disease that cannot be reversed.

The regulation's rules on silica protect workers. Section 6.112(2) requires a risk assessment by a qualified person before the work, and section 6.112.2 puts dust reduction systems and containment first among the controls. The regulation's list of dust reduction systems includes an enclosure, ventilation that captures dust at the tool, and water that keeps dust out of the air.

If you stay in the unit, ask your contractor which of those controls will be used. We close the work area off from the rooms you live in and clean the path to the unit door at the end of each working day.

Days without water

Plumbing work needs the water off. If the unit has its own working shut-off valve, the water is off in your unit alone. If the work needs a valve that also supplies other units, the strata arranges the shut-off, because section 3 of the Strata Property Act makes the strata corporation responsible for managing the common property.

On a shut-off day the unit has no tap, toilet or shower for the hours the valve is closed. We give you each shut-off date in writing before the work starts, so you can plan to be out on those days if you are living in the unit.

What the Province says about insurance, an empty unit and a place to stay

The Province of BC's page on strata owner insurance says the strata corporation's policy leaves out the expenses of owners who have to live elsewhere after a loss. It describes the matching cover in an owner's own policy as additional living expenses "in the event of an insured loss", and its example is a fire.

A renovation you plan is your own decision, and we found no source that says insurance pays for a place to stay during one. Budget for the stay yourself, and ask your broker to confirm in writing.

The same page lists insurance for a unit that is "left vacant for periods of time" among the other cover an owner can buy, beside cover for major upgrades done to the unit. It also says that after a change in insured property it is important to contact the insurance broker and the strata council immediately. Ask the broker these questions before you move out:

• Does my policy stay in force while the unit is empty and under renovation, and for how many days?
• Does the policy ask for someone to check the unit while it is empty, and how often?
• Does my cover for the strata's deductible apply during the work?
• What limit should the policy carry for the new kitchen, bathroom or flooring once the work is done?

While you are away, the strata still has to reach you

Give the strata manager a mailing address outside the building, in writing, before you leave. Under section 61 of the Strata Property Act, a strata that holds an outside address for an owner gives its notices by handing them to the owner or by mailing them to that address. A strata that holds no outside address may put a notice under the unit door, and the Act treats that notice as given 4 days later. A complaint about the work could lie unread on the floor of an empty unit.

Tell the strata who holds a key. Standard Bylaw 7 lets a person authorized by the strata enter a unit in an emergency without notice, and at a reasonable time on 48 hours' written notice to inspect or repair common property.

Furniture and belongings

A room under renovation has to be empty. For flooring through the whole unit, that is every piece of furniture, one room at a time or all at once.

Three places can hold furniture: another room of the unit, the storage locker allocated to your unit if it has one, and rented storage outside the building. Space in a hallway, a service room or the parking area is common property. Section 76 of the Act lets a strata give an owner permission to use common property exclusively, so ask in writing before anything is left there.

How we stage the work when you stay

Where a unit has two bathrooms, we rebuild one at a time. The second bathroom stays in use until the first has a working toilet, sink and shower again.

We tell you at the quote stage which rooms will be closed and for how long in your building. The schedule names the days when water will be off and the days when hazardous materials are removed.