Strata council meetings

The strata council acts as the managing body for the strata corporation. It is important that the strata council meetings follow certain requirements as set out by the Strata Property Act or the strata corporation’s bylaws. There are also other duties and responsibilities for strata council members.

Learn more on this page:
Calling a strata council meeting
Requesting a hearing at a strata council meeting
Quorum and participation
Taking minutes
Voting at a strata council meeting

Calling  a strata council meeting

The process for calling a strata council meeting is set by the strata corporation’s bylaws. Many strata corporations use Standard Bylaw number 14 (learn more about strata bylaws) which specifies that strata council meetings are called by:

• Giving other members at least one week’s notice specifying the reason for the meeting or
• Giving less than one week’s notice if:
  - the strata council members agree or
  - the meeting is required to deal with an emergency situation, and strata council members either consent in advance of the meeting, or are unavailable to provide consent after reasonable attempts to contact them
• The council must inform owners about a council meeting as soon as feasible after the meeting has been called

Giving notice versus informing

Informing owners does not have the same legal requirements as giving notice. Unlike giving notice, there is no time requirement when informing owners, other than “as soon as feasible”. To inform strata owners, strata councils could share the next strata council meeting date in their minutes on the strata corporation’s website or post information on a bulletin board in the mail room or lobby.

Notice to strata council members

Note: under the provincial government’s Interpretation Act, if the reference to time in other Acts or legislation includes phrases such as “clear” days or weeks, or “at least” in reference to days or weeks, the time must be calculated by excluding the first day and the last day of the period. Another way of thinking about the days that must be excluded is to think that nothing can happen on those days.

So, when calculating the number of days within the one week notice period for calling a strata council meeting, the day the notice is given (Day 1) cannot be counted as one of the days. The strata council meeting cannot take place on the last day of the notice period (Day 8). It can only take place on Day 9 or later, depending on how the notice is delivered.

Day 1:  notice is given by a strata council member to have a strata council meeting
Day 2:  when the notice period starts to run
Day 8:  when the notice period stops running
Day 9 or later: when the strata council meeting can be held

Requesting a hearing at a strata council meeting

An owner or tenant can request in writing, stating the reason, a hearing at a strata council meeting.  

Reasons for hearings can include presenting information related to bylaw enforcement.

The strata council must hold a council meeting within 4 weeks after the request to hear the applicant.  

If the purpose of the hearing is to seek a decision from council, the strata council must give the applicant a written decision within one week after the hearing.

Quorum and participation 

At the outset of a strata council meeting, members should determine if the required quorum under the strata's bylaws is met.

Under the Standard Bylaws (which can be amended):

• council has the option of holding council meetings by electronic means as long as all council members and participants can communicate with each other
• council members must be present in person (this can include members present electronically) at the council meeting to be counted in establishing quorum

Under the Standard Bylaws (which can be amended) a quorum of the council is:

• one member (if the council consists of one member)
• two members (if the council consists of two, three or four members)
• three members (if the council consists of five or six members)
• four members (if the council consists of seven members)

Under the Standard Bylaws (which can be amended):

• owners may attend strata council meetings as observers only. However they may not attend portions of meetings related to: bylaw enforcement proceedings; rental restriction bylaw exemption hearings; and matters where a person’s privacy would be unreasonably interfered with
• at the first meeting of the new strata council, members must elect from among themselves the following: a president; a vice-president; a treasurer; and a secretary. A member can hold more than one office, so long as it is not both president and vice-president

Taking minutes 

Minutes of strata council meetings need to be taken and the strata council must inform owners of the minutes of all strata council meetings within two weeks of the meeting.  

It is important to document strata council decisions including spending and approval. Learn more about spending and approval in finance and insurance including financial best practices as well as repairs and maintenance.

Voting at a strata council meeting

The Standard Bylaws (which can be amended) set out the following provisions that deal with voting in strata council meetings: 

• each strata council member has one vote
• all matters are decided by a majority vote
• at council meetings, decisions are made by council members present in person at the meeting (i.e. no proxies)
• a record of each vote must be recorded in the minutes
• a tie vote can be broken by the president unless the strata corporation consists of only two strata lots

The Strata Property Act clearly states that a council member cannot vote on a matter if the council member has a direct or indirect interest in the outcome of the vote. Learn more about conflict of interest in roles and responsibilities of strata council members.

References:
Strata Property Act: Sections 1, 45
Standard Bylaws (which can be amended): 16-22

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The content on this website is periodically reviewed and updated by the Province of British Columbia as per the date noted at the top of each page.