Rossdale Court condominium residents suffer under inadequate homeowner protection
Edmonton – Owners in the Rossdale Court condominium building in Edmonton are unimpressed by Municipal Affairs Minister Hector Goudreau’s latest assurances that new homeowner protection measures are being considered. That building, like a number of others in the province, has experienced major deficiencies, and repairs totaling over $2 million are currently underway to address roof and door water leaks and damage to balconies and walkways.
Edmonton-Centre MLA Laurie Blakeman echoed the owners’ frustration, noting that she had been calling for better homeowner protection for years. “As a representative for an area of the city that predominantly has apartments and condominiums, I’ve heard from too many constituents who have been failed by the province’s refusal to legislate better protection for homeowners,” says Blakeman. “The government knows that there’s a problem, and, yet, they continue to drag their feet. Once again people living in cities, especially in condos, are not getting the benefit of consumer protection regulations.”
Blakeman notes the Alberta Liberals made homeowner protection one of their key issues in the spring sitting of the legislature. “We saw the issues with the Penhorwood building in Fort McMurray, and we saw Minister Goudreau fail to deliver on his promise to introduce homeowner protection legislation. Just last month, we saw the issues with the Bella Vista condominium building in Calgary,” Blakeman says. “There are serious deficiencies with how this province manages building development that need to be addressed.”
Referring to the issues with the Rossdale Court building, Blakeman credits the hard work of the condominium board and the residents in solving the problems specific to their building. “These people came together to get their building fixed up, no thanks to the province,” say Blakeman. “There needs to be better accountability of developers, contractors and inspectors so that residents and condo boards don’t have to go through this ordeal to begin with. Residents also need recourse to go after those responsible for the shoddy workmanship so that residents aren’t paying for repairs out of their own pocket.”
The province did announce some changes this spring, but the announcements were either minor or had no specific timeline attached to them. “Home inspectors for resale properties have to be licensed, but there’s no mention of measures regarding inspectors for new homes,” explains Blakeman. “The government also says it’s considering longer home warranties and increased fines for code violations, but, with no timeline attached to their considerations, there’s no guarantee anything will happen at all.”
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