canada privacy homeownership
Strata corporation installing keyless entry system and logging entrance times/dates
<p>My concern is the strata is forcing people to sign for specified id numbers this information is then stored so they know who enters the building when and how often. I am an owner and I believe I should have the right to enter and exit the building without it being permanently logged and quite honestly I don't believe anyone has the right to know when I enter or leave the building as I am not a criminal, pedophile or on parole so I believe its my private business but they disagree despite giving no logical reason why they need this information.</p>

<p>My question/s are do I have any legal recourse to try and force them to be unable to store the information of when I enter or exit the building?</p>

<p>If I don't do they have any legal way of coming after me for putting a paper message of buzz (my buzzer code) to have the door automatically open. My solution is to set an answering machine up attached to my buzzer system that will automatically pick up after two rings and record a pressing of the buzzer tone to automatically open the door whenever my buzzer number is entered of course this will still be logged so I would need to distribute this information to anyone in order to prevent them from simply logging when my buzzer code opens the door. </p>

<p>I am Autistic and the prospect of this new system being installed makes me extremely upset but being that circumventing the the doors ability to lock is currently my only recourse i would like to try a different avenue. I don't mind hiring a lawyer to sue the strata council if there is some legal avenue for me to do so. I live in British Columbia Canada.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>My question/s are do I have any legal recourse to try and force them
  to be unable to store the information of when I enter or exit the
  building?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Probably not. Generally speaking a strata corporation has wide discretion to operate the building in the same way that it would be operated if the building was owned by one person and rented to tenants.</p>

<p>There are not any special privacy rules that I am aware of that protect the privacy of residents in public areas or doorways to private areas of a residential building from the strata or your fellow residents in the building. </p>

<p>In the absence of a law protecting your right to privacy in those areas, you have no protection by any means other than voting in a more privacy friendly board together with other residents. But, this is not likely to prevail as an issue when electing members of the strata board. The kind of people who run for these boards and vote for people on these boards tend to care more about security than privacy.</p>

<p>The legal burden is on you to show that they cannot do something and not on them to show that they have a legitimate need for the information.</p>

<p>It might be a violation of the law for the strata to upload that information for anyone to access on the Internet, but if it is simply using the information in connection with providing security to residents, this is almost surely legal.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>If I don't do they have any legal way of coming after me for putting a
  paper message of buzz (my buzzer code) to have the door automatically
  open. My solution is to set an answering machine up attached to my
  buzzer system that will automatically pick up after two rings and
  record a pressing of the buzzer tone to automatically open the door
  whenever my buzzer number is entered of course this will still be
  logged so I would need to distribute this information to anyone in
  order to prevent them from simply logging when my buzzer code opens
  the door.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I do not really understand exactly what you are trying to explain or accomplish with this system. But, for sake of argument, suppose that you find a way to circumvent or spoof the system in some way.</p>

<p>This would probably not be prohibited at the outset. But, the strata would have the authority to adopt rules and regulations that would prohibit circumventing or spoofing the system (even if those rules and regulations were entirely invented specifically to affect you and nobody else in the building). If it adopted those rules and regulations to target you, it would then have the authority to fine you if you violated those rules and regulations. So, while getting around the system technologically might work in the short run, it would probably lead to trouble in the long run.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>I am Autistic and the prospect of this new system being installed
  makes me extremely upset but being that circumventing the the doors
  ability to lock is currently my only recourse i would like to try a
  different avenue.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>The strata probably does have a legal obligation to accommodate "disabilities". For example, it would probably have an obligation to allow someone to have an emotional support animal prescribed by an appropriate health care professional.</p>

<p>But, I am not convinced that an exemption from having your unit be a part of the security system, or circumventing the ability of your door to lock, would be solutions to the situation that either a lawyer or a health care professional would recommend or would be able to achieve for you.</p>

<p>I would recommend finding someone who is used to working with people who are Autistic on a regular basis, who has a good track record of problem solving and common sense. Then, brain storm with that person to find a practical solution to the situation (and probably also a lot of solutions that will ultimately not work as well). </p>

<p>Their professional credentials and formal education are less important than a history of having a familiarity with people like you and a familiarity with the informal attitudes of people who make decisions in the strata and good skills at dealing with those kinds of people. </p>

<p>This could be a parent or a sibling of you or someone you know. It could be a teacher or former teacher. It could be a co-worker, or someone you have interacted with in a non-school, non-work situation like a coach or a helpful librarian or a priest or deacon. It could be a community center leader or a community activist or just a friend of yours or a sympathetic neighbor.</p>

<p>My intuition, from having dealt with similar situations, is that the solution is likely to be something that neither you nor I have considered. And, the solution is likely to involve facts related to the situation that are important to getting it resolved, but didn't seem important to you as you consider the question yourself.</p>

<p>I wish I could offer more specific advice, but I don't think that a lawsuit or threatened legal action is likely to be your most effective means of getting results that will work for you.</p>
