Fire recovery in a condo or strata building

Start with the unit and the shared building

A fire can involve your belongings, unit finishes, common corridors and shared systems. These do not necessarily belong to one scope or one insurance policy. Identify the property manager or board contact, your insurer and the person coordinating the building’s assessment. Use the same unit and room identifiers in every record.

IBC distinguishes condominium corporation insurance from unit-owner coverage, including possible coverage for improvements. The actual allocation depends on the policy and governing documents; ask your insurer and building representative rather than assuming the wall, floor or fixture belongs to one party’s claim.

Source: Insurance Bureau of Canada · home and condo coverage.

Create a responsibility matrix

Record an unresolved allocation as a question. Do not let a disagreement about who pays obscure an immediate safety instruction or the need for assessment.

Coordinate access and work boundaries

Ask how contractors enter the building, which elevators or corridors may be used, where materials can be staged and who informs residents about restrictions. A repair inside one suite may need access to a ceiling or service run in another. That dependency should appear in the schedule before a contractor promises a completion date.

Keep the current access instructions for your unit and shared areas. A building-wide notice can differ from an individual unit restriction. The access guide helps record both.

Track scope across the unit boundary

For each room, ask what is being assessed, cleaned, removed and reinstated. Then check the interfaces: penetrations, shared cavities, mechanical connections and common finishes. Assign the person who checks those interfaces so they do not fall between two contractors.

• Which parts of the unit can be occupied during work, if any?
• Who approves opening or closing shared assemblies?
• Who confirms restored fire-safety systems and required inspections?
• How are neighbouring-unit impacts reported?
• Who provides the final records to the unit owner?

Keep claim discussions and building updates aligned

Send the relevant scope revisions and access updates to the people responsible for your claim and the building. Keep records of approved additional expenses and any continuing displacement. Ask what documentation is needed when the unit is ready but shared access or services are still restricted.

A repair completion notice, an insurer’s payment decision and permission to occupy may arrive from different parties. Keep those records separate and ask about any conflict before arranging a move back. For disputed scope items, use the issue-sheet approach.