Council powers and limits, bylaw enforcement that holds up, meetings that reach quorum, and what to do when the process breaks down.
Governance is the largest section of this library, which tells you something about where strata life actually gets difficult. The Act gives a strata council real authority and real constraints, and most disputes come from one side of that pair being forgotten.
A council can enforce bylaws, but only after giving the owner written particulars and an opportunity for a hearing. It can set rules for common property, but it cannot invent a rule that contradicts a bylaw. It can hold meetings electronically, restrict a facility for genuine reasons, and fine repeat offenders — each of those with a procedure attached, and each of those routinely done wrong in a way that makes the outcome unenforceable.
The articles below cover the mechanics council members and owners both need: what the seven council roles actually involve, how to change a bylaw so it sticks, how to call an SGM when the council won't, how to remove a council member, what has to appear in the minutes, and where the line sits between a strata matter and a police matter. There is also a run of pieces on the human side — difficult councils, volunteer burnout, thin AGM attendance, and the question of whether anyone should be paid for the work.
If a dispute is already underway, start with the piece on owner rights and the one on hearings. Procedure is usually the thing that decides these.
Almost every alteration dispute in a BC strata starts the same way: somebody applied the wrong rule. Section 71 and the standard bylaws do very different jobs.
Majority, 3/4, 80% and unanimous votes are not measured against the same denominator — and that single fact decides more BC strata resolutions than anything else.
Records requests are among the easiest things in BC strata law to get right and among the most commonly botched. The deadlines are fixed and the fee cap is a specific number.
Stratas of five or more lots in Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and the Capital Regional District need an electrical planning report by December 31, 2026 — and most councils have not started.
A plain-English guide to what a BC strata council does: who serves, the president and treasurer roles, the legal duties under the Strata Property Act, and its limits.
Rental bans, most age limits and tenant screening: some BC strata bylaws simply don't hold up. Here's which rules are unenforceable, and why, under current law.
How BC strata councils can enforce bylaws and impose fines the right way: the strict Section 135 process, current fine limits, and what the notice must say.
Changing a strata bylaw in BC takes a 3/4 vote plus a Form I filing at the Land Title Office within 60 days. Here's the full process, and how to word it.
Stuck with a secretive or bullying strata council? BC's Strata Property Act gives owners real tools — records, hearings, an SGM, council removal, and the CRT.
A council code of conduct isn't required by BC law, but it's one of the best governance tools a strata has. Here's what belongs in one, and how to adopt it.
As a BC strata owner you have real, enforceable rights — to vote, to records, to a hearing, to rent out your unit, and to fair treatment. Here's the plain-English list.
A BC strata can't evict an owner from a unit they own — but as a last resort it can force the sale of the lot to collect unpaid fees. Here's how that works.
A practical guide to running a compliant BC strata AGM: the two-month deadline, two-week notice, quorum rules, the budget vote, proxies, and a ready-to-use countdown.
Can't get owners to your strata AGM? Here's how small BC stratas hit quorum — smarter notice, proxies, electronic voting, and an agenda that gives owners a reason to show up.
Yes, your BC strata can run video AGMs and vote electronically. Here are the rules, the trade-offs, and why a ballots-only meeting still is not allowed.
BC strata law protects election signs on your own lot during a campaign, even when a bylaw bans signs. Here's what a strata can and can't restrict, and how fines really work.
Council won't act? BC owners can force a special general meeting. Here's the requisition process step by step — plus whether the notice period can be waived.
Legal since 2018 — but your strata still has real power over cannabis. How far a BC strata can restrict smoking and growing, and who gets grandfathered.
In a small BC building, can your council really close the pool or gym? When a strata can shut or restrict shared amenities, and what owners can do about it.
How big should your strata council be, and how often should it meet? A practitioner's guide to right-sizing council and setting a healthy cadence in BC.
Snow and ice on common property is the strata's problem until someone slips. Here's who must clear it, who's liable, and how a small BC building plans ahead.
Struggling to fill council seats? Practical ways for small and aging BC stratas to recruit, keep, and hand off council volunteers without losing knowledge.
A strata council hearing in BC lets owners and tenants be heard before a fine or decision sticks. Here's how to request one and what the strata must do.
EV charger requests are landing in BC strata inboxes now. A plain-English guide to planning electrical capacity, approvals, and fair cost-sharing for small buildings.
Noise, threats, harassment, parking wars: not every strata conflict is council's job. Here's how to tell a bylaw matter from a CRT case, or a police matter.
Strata council minutes are the legal record of every decision your council makes. What BC law requires you to include, what to leave out, and access rights.
Those white crusty deposits on your parkade concrete are a symptom, not the disease. Here's what efflorescence tells your BC strata council about water — and why to act early.
Can you remove a strata council member mid-term in BC? Usually yes — by a majority owner vote at a general meeting. Here's the process, grounds, and votes needed.
In a sectioned BC strata, groups of owners fund and govern their own areas while sharing the rest. Here's how sections split fees — and whether they cost more.
The line between what your strata must repair and what falls on you as an owner is often blurry. A plain-English guide to who's responsible in BC stratas.
Most BC strata council members volunteer, but honorariums and expense reimbursement are possible in limited ways. Here's what the Strata Property Act and your bylaws generally allow, plus the trade-offs to weigh.
A strata can ban smoking inside units and on balconies, but only by bylaw and only with a 3/4 vote. A posted rule restricts nothing that happens behind a unit door.
Hire two contractors for the same day without naming a prime contractor in writing, and your strata corporation just became one. It is the liability councils never see coming.
Your strata is an organization under BC's Personal Information Protection Act, which means it needs a privacy officer — and most councils have never appointed one.
Most strata fines fail not because the conduct was acceptable, but because the complaint was never handled the way the Act requires. Both sides of the process, in order.
A strata can follow its bylaws exactly, minute the vote properly, act within its powers — and still be ordered to undo the decision. Legality is not a defence here.
Since 2016 the CRT has been the default forum for BC strata disputes: online, built for people without lawyers, and with no monetary cap on a strata claim.
Standing for council takes about thirty seconds of procedure at the AGM and no campaign at all. What it takes afterwards is worth understanding before you put your hand up.
The Act gives the powers of the strata corporation to the council, not to its president. That one fact explains almost every argument about what a president may decide.
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