I have seen many things over time,but this must show up probably the worst behaviour regarding By-Law Enforcement and Building Permissions.
If you are from anywhere that is not India, especially the Punjab, you may find that the By-Law officers will show up at your home within a few days of receiving any type of complaint, but if you are Sikh and have taken out main bearing walls, changed the wiring, messed with the natural gas service, and all done without any permission or permit,then you may find you are home free, literally. There seems to be a standing practice in the Building Inspection or Permit offices of delaying all inspections, checking out any and all complaints until after the By-Law violations are hidden behind drywall and then you need not worry at all!
In fact, I know of one house that was standing, was likely painted with lead paint, and also possibly had asbestos within it, and while they were tearing away at this house, I called City Hall, spoke to the building inspections office and they took the information. I have yet, after 3 FULL MONTHS to see any notice, anything done, and that house is now gone. The debris went somewhere, and if there was any hazardous material with it,then someone may never know how they became exposed to that hazard.
There were several other houses,all owned by Sikh owners that were “remodelled” without any permits, and when I spoke to the permit office, and the by-law office, I was told “the inspectors are busy”, too busy it seems except when another home owned by a man who is a long time resident of Surrey, but not Sikh, was inspected within days of a complaint.
I am NOT alone in noting this either. The general view here is that the Indo-Canadian community is able to do pretty much anything they want, and the law has no binding on them. They have persisted in making sure that their interests are guarded, often flouting laws regarding buildings, health regulations, tenant law, and basically most others. including criminal law.
Recently most of the criminals either charged or sought by the police are from the Indo-Canadian community, and with the recent Bank of Montreal fraud scam there is the view that this community has no reason to abide by any laws, even federal ones.
Even contract law is now flouted according to most of the building and other trades. The people in the Sikh community agree to a given price for work, then they renege on full payment, even going as far as building a home in Whistler, moving in,then declaring bankruptcy to avoid paying for the house at all!
I know several trades owners, plumbers, drywall, plasterers, electricians, carpenters and even those who do the fine finishing such as flooring, cabinetry, will refuse to work with anyone of the Sikh community unless the money is paid at least 50% up front. They all have been stung too often with partial payment.
I think it is high time Surrey City Hall took the time to really look at the practices within their own walls and to find out exactly why the Sikh community flouts the laws and rarely faces any fines or other penalties. The houses they “remodel” are health hazards, fire hazards and certainly hazardous to live in given that the entire structure has been altered, especially after the work has been done without any inspections. Gas lines are NOT something to play with, but these houses then get sold to some unwitting person who finds out that the main bearing wall is gone, the structure MUST be restored and the costs then pass on to the new owner.
IF you are looking to buy any house in Surrey, get at least 2 trades who are professional, to look at the house, check the wiring, check the structure, check the plumbing and gas lines especially. Obviously the City of Surrey has NOT done so.
If you are buying any property, even a townhouse or condo here, check to see if there have ever been any permits issued, or stop work orders. I know of at least one house that was “remodelled” WHILE a stop work order was in effect on that house. There was even a contractor on that premises and NO PERMIT!
All of these houses were owned by Sikh owners, and I gather they get a free pass from City Hall and any inspections because they are “influential” in this city. How do I know who owned them? Simple, they were wearing the turbans and clothing of the Sikh. All those working, with one exception, were wearing the same things, without any hard hats, steel toe boots, or any other safety gear.
Here I thought I lived in Canada, where the rule and abidance of law was part of our way of living. Apparently those who have come here have decided they don’t have to abide by laws that may inconvenience them or cost them time when making money.
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