Alex J. Chang

Partner

Location:        Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Phone:            604-685-1255
Email:              ajc@lmlaw.ca

Alex’s primary areas of practice are strata, tenancy, construction and real property law. He is one of the co-leaders of Lesperance Mendes’ strata practice and the leader of the tenancy practice. 

Alex has successfully represented clients at all levels of court in British Columbia, as well as the Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT), Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB), Human Rights Tribunal, Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner and private arbitration. His litigation experience includes:

  • Resolving a broad range of condominium and tenancy matters, including disputes over governance, bylaw enforcement, air space parcels, property rights, repairs, evictions, finances and collections.
  • Obtaining compensation for construction defects and warranty claims
  • Successfully representing clients in all manner of tenancy disputes before the RTB and Court
  • Judicial reviews and appeals of tribunal decisions, including from the CRT and RTB 
  • Resolving disputes over a broad range of other real property matters, including easements, leases, air space parcel agreements, cost-sharing agreements, contracts of purchase and sale, and partitions of property.

Alex also maintains a solicitor practice focused on strata and tenancy matters, including:

  • Advising clients on condo governance and compliance with the Strata Property Act.
  • Drafting strata bylaws, rules and resolutions.
  • Negotiating and reviewing easement agreements and other contracts.
  • Tenancy issues and compliance with the Residential Tenancy Act.
  • Privacy issues and compliance with the Personal Information Protection Act.

 

Alex regularly writes articles and presents educational seminars about strata and tenancy issues.  Alex is also the author of the CLE BC Strata Property Practice Manual – Chapter 14 Recourse to the Courts.

 

Areas of Practice

 

Bar Admission

  • British Columbia – 2013

Education

  • Osgoode Hall Law School
    • Juris Doctorate – 2012
  • University of Victoria
    • Bachelor of Arts – 2008

 

Representative Work 

Downing v. Strata Plan VR2356, 2021 BCCRT 319, 2022 BCSC 590, 2023 BCCA 100

  • Successfully defended a strata corporation in the CRT, on judicial review and appeal against an owner claim concerning property damage and repair claim.

 

Abstract Projects Inc. v. Strata Plan EPS6069, 2023 BCSC 42

  • Successfully defended a strata corporation against a developer claim concerning a parking assignment lease and having the lease declared void. 

 

Stratton v. Richter, 2022 BCCA 337 

  • Successfully preserved an owner’s rights on appeal to exclusive use of limited common property in a leading case on the interpretation of strata plans.

 

Wang v. Strata Plan LMS2970, 2020 BCCA 356; 2021 CanLII 109586 (SCC)

  • Successfully defended a strata council president against an owner claim in the CRT and subsequent appeals to all levels of court and obtained special costs against the owner.

 

Downing v Strata Plan VR2356, 2019 BCSC 1745

  • Successfully obtained an order referring an owner claim against a strata from the court to the CRT.

 

Strata Plan BCS 4006 v. Jameson House, 2017 BCSC 1988, 2019 BCCA 144; 

  • Successfully defended an air space parcel (ASP) strata corporation against a developer’s claim concerning a reciprocal lease (i.e. ASP agreement) and having the cost-sharing provisions declared unenforceable. 

 

Exelsior Holdings Ltd. v. Strata Plan VR 2139, 2019 BCCRT 623

  • Successfully assisted a commercial strata lot owner in bringing a claim seeking directions concerning the appropriate process for the strata corporation to allow it to expand its offices into a residential strata lot

 

Hassan et al v. Strata Plan LMS 2854, 2018 BCCRT 303

  • Successfully assisted a strata corporation in defending an owner claim in the CRT and bring a counterclaim. CRT found that the owner had to seek a unanimous resolution and amendment to the schedule of unit entitlement to approve alterations increasing the habitable area of their strata lot. 

 

Strata Plan NW 1245 v Linden, 2016 BCSC 619, 2017 BCSC 852; 

  • Successfully obtained injunction orders against owner and occupant enforcing the strata corporation’s bylaws. Subsequent obtained order forcing eviction and sale of the owner’s strata for failure to comply with the court order.

 

Associations and Memberships

Vancouver Society of Children’s Centres (VSOCC)

  • Director @ large

 

Professional Association of Managing Agents (PAMA) 

  • Member, Education and Rental Committee member & speaker

 

Condominium Homeowner’s Association of BC (CHOA) 

  • Member, volunteer speaker & author

 

Landlord BC 

  • Member, volunteer speaker & author

 

Federation of Asian Canadian Lawyers BC (FACL), 

  • Member, Fmr. vice president, mentorship committee chair & director @ large

 

Continuing Legal Education Society of BC (CLEBC)

  • Strata Property Practice Manual author & speaker

 

Canadian Bar Association

  • Member

 

* Services Provided Through AJ Chang Law Corporation

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