Surrey wins court injunction and order to demolish unpermitted construction

The City of Surrey has won an injunction in BC Supreme Court halting construction work at a residential property and also declaring that the property owners have violated local building bylaws.

The city took Manjit Kaur Randhawa and Davinder Singh Randhawa to court over work done at 13515–79 Ave. without permission and a requirement to demolish the work that was completed. The city first visited the site back in 2021.

The city said in court filings that unpermitted work included an extended deck, accessory building, and an aluminum canopy.

The family had claimed “hardship” due to the demands of the city, but the judge wasn’t buying it.

“Ms. Randhawa alleges hardship in that the requirement to demolish the New Construction and the Dwelling Units may render the Property unoccupiable, leaving her without a place to reside,” said the court ruling. “However, she provides no evidence of what work will be required or why she will be unable to stay in the main home on the Property during the demolition. Without any such evidence, the fact that the New Construction is located outside of the main home makes it difficult to accept that its demolition will have any effect on her ability to live there. The fact that she appears to have lived in the home while the Dwelling Units were built detracts from the possibility that she will have to relocate to allow for their demolition.”

 The judge granted the city the following:

• A declaration that the respondents have contravened the Building Bylaws by failing to comply with an order by the City Building Official to remove the Accessory Building, the Extended Deck, the Stairs, the Canopy, and the Dwelling Units that have been constructed without permits on the Property;
•  an injunction restraining the respondents or their agents, servants and employees, or any other person having notice of this order, from doing any of the following on or at the Property: erecting, repairing, altering, renovating, adding to, installing, demolishing, removing or moving any building or structure, or preparing by way of shoring or excavation; and violating the compliance orders issued by the City.”
• An “injunction requiring the respondents to carry out the demolition and removal of the Accessory Building, the Extended Deck, the Stairs, the Canopy, and the Dwelling Units within 60 days of receiving a permit for such work; and an injunction requiring the respondents to carry out the restoration of the Property within 60 days of receiving a permit for such work.”