Hello Dilys,
Clearly, you have the opinion of a "condominium" lawyer. The Board has been presented with a written opinion and yet refuses to accept same. Does the Board have a legal opinion to the contrary? Although I am not a lawyer, I would NOT pay the special assessment and I would stand on the written legal opinion of my lawyer. Let the Board take me to mediation or arbitration over the issue. As well, the costs to other unit Owners for the balcony repairs should be sufficient to discourage them from supporting the added costs of mediation, arbitration or litigation. In such a small Corporation, those costs could be prohibitive. Of course, any such costs are bourne by all unit Owners in the form of common expense contributions. The Board could also attempt to amend the Declaration but such an amendment would require the written consent of the Owners owning a minimum of 80% or 90% of the units depending on the change.
As you may well be aware, I do not advocate the use of arbitration and litigation within the condominium community as the only winners are often the parties' lawyers. Perhaps the Board would be willing to accept your lawyers' professional opinion and simply get on with the business of governance.
Yvon
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