The Thompson-Nicola Regional District wants compliance for buildings that aren’t up to code in a spiritual community near Ashcroft.

A notice on title is being issued at the Saranagati Village, which is meant to warn potential buyers of issues on the property. A notice on title can also affect a property owner’s ability to get a mortgage or property insurance.

The regional district has been trying to get properties in Saranagati Village to comply with bylaws and building codes since early 2017, when a family of four was killed by carbon monoxide poisoning in a home there.

“And that house did not have an occupancy permit,” Regina Sadilkova says, the TNRD’s director of development services.

“So of course our inspectors, one of the things that they check, is for smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors. So it’s not that we’re proposing legal action, other than a notice on title at this time.”

Sadilkova says there are dozens of homes in the village and says some have occupancy permits, but says many do not.

“And there’s some that were certainly built with a building permit that went through the whole process and were issued occupancy permits. Others, we’re not even sure if folks are living in them. The house where the tragedy was, was not inspected by us or the gas inspector, the BC Safety Authority.”

The properties where the notice on title has been issued, on Rathayatra Way, includes dozens of dwellings; Sadilkova says there is shared ownership in those properties.

According to its Facebook page, the Saranagati Village has about 25 families that live there.

(Photo: Saranagati Village Facebook)