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Many are angry that working families who bought into stratas because they couldn’t afford more expensive single-family homes now find themselves helpless in this newest crisis to hit B.C.’s housing market.

Dozens of interviews this week make it clear that although government and regulators are trying to find solutions, they have only just started gathering the necessary information to try to understand what is happening — so no quick fix is on the horizon.

And that means the situation is expected to get far worse before it gets better for B.C.’s 35,000 strata corporations and their occupants, who include just about every segment of society: Families, seniors, immigrants, renters, people on fixed incomes and high-earners in luxury towers.

That is of no comfort to residents like Asifa Lalji, who had to quit her public relations job two years ago when her muscular dystrophy worsened and now lives on disability assistance. Insurance rate hikes for her New Westminster condo building mean her strata fees will increase about $200 a month, which is tough to absorb if your budget is already stretched.

“There are seniors here that are on fixed incomes, low-income families that are going paycheque to paycheque, and people like me with disabilities. … You don’t want to be depleting all your savings and building up your debt just to live day-to-day, which is what is happening,” she said.

“And we’ve been told by the insurance companies that this is going to continue for at least another year.”