Does the Strata Property Act Override Strata Bylaws? Which Law Wins

A question comes up at almost every contentious AGM: if the owners pass their own bylaws, does that mean the Strata Property Act no longer applies to the building? Sometimes it is asked hopefully, by owners who want a rule the Act does not allow. Sometimes it is asked anxiously, by owners who think a new bylaw has taken away rights they used to have.

The short answer is no. Bylaws never switch the Act off. They operate underneath it, inside the space the Act leaves for them, and they sit beneath the Human Rights Code and other law as well. But the Act also deliberately lets bylaws change many of its default rules, which is why the question is less silly than it sounds.

This article is general information about how strata bylaws relate to the Strata Property Act, its Regulation and other BC law, not legal advice. Whether a specific bylaw is valid depends on its exact wording and your building's registered documents. Confirm with a strata lawyer before you rely on a bylaw, or before you ignore one.

The short answer: bylaws live inside the Act

Section 119 says a strata corporation must have bylaws, and that those bylaws may provide for the control, management, maintenance, use and enjoyment of the strata lots, common property and common assets, and for the administration of the strata corporation. That is the grant of power. Bylaws exist because the Act creates them.

Section 121 then sets the outer limit. A bylaw is not enforceable to the extent that it:

• contravenes the Act, the regulations, the Human Rights Code or any other enactment or law
• destroys or modifies certain statutory easements created under section 69, or
• prohibits or restricts an owner's right to freely sell, lease, mortgage or otherwise dispose of the strata lot, subject to narrow exceptions for sale-related bylaws under section 122 and 55-plus age bylaws under section 123.1

So when a bylaw and the Act genuinely conflict, the Act wins. Our guide to unenforceable strata bylaws walks through the most common examples, including rental and age restrictions. This article is about the structure behind those examples: which law sits where, and why.

The order of authority

It helps to think of a ladder, with each rung subject to everything above it:

1. 1.The Human Rights Code. Section 4 of the Code says that if there is a conflict between the Code and any other enactment, the Code prevails. That includes the Strata Property Act itself.
2. 2.The Strata Property Act and the Strata Property Regulation. The Act sets the framework; the Regulation fills in details the Act delegates to it, such as maximum fines, the maximum interest rate on late fees and the contents of a depreciation report.
3. 3.Other enactments and law. Section 121's phrase "any other enactment or law" reaches well beyond strata legislation. Tenancy law, building and fire safety requirements, privacy law and the general law all continue to apply to people who live in a strata.
4. 4.The strata's registered bylaws, including any Standard Bylaws that have not been replaced.
5. 5.Rules made by council. A rule is unenforceable to the same extent a bylaw would be, and under section 125(5), if a rule conflicts with a bylaw, the bylaw prevails. See strata rules versus bylaws.

Nothing lower on the ladder can override something higher. A bylaw cannot cut down a right in the Act, and a rule cannot override a bylaw.

Where the Act lets bylaws change the rules

Here is the part people miss. The Act is not a single fixed rulebook. Many sections set a default and then expressly invite the bylaws to change it, using phrases such as "subject to the bylaws" or "unless otherwise provided in the bylaws". Where those words appear, a properly passed bylaw does change the result, lawfully.

Some examples:

• Quorum. Section 48 sets a default quorum for general meetings "subject to the bylaws", and the adjourned-meeting rule applies "unless otherwise provided in the bylaws".
• Repair responsibilities. Section 72 lets a strata, by bylaw, make an owner responsible for limited common property they have the right to use, and lets the strata take on responsibility for specified parts of strata lots.
• Voting while in arrears. Under section 53(2), a strata may pass a bylaw suspending a strata lot's vote, except on matters requiring an 80% or unanimous vote, while the strata is entitled to register a lien against it.
• Fines and interest. The Act requires the strata to set maximum fines in its bylaws, but the Regulation caps them: $200 per contravention of a bylaw, $50 per contravention of a rule and $1,000 per contravention of a bylaw limiting short-term accommodation use. Interest on late strata fees can be set by bylaw up to 10% per annum compounded annually.

The pattern is consistent. Where the Act invites a bylaw, the bylaw controls within whatever limits the Act or Regulation sets. Where the Act does not, the bylaw cannot change the Act's rule.

Where the Act sets a floor no bylaw can lower

Other sections lay down minimum protections that apply whatever the bylaws say. A few that come up constantly:

• Due process before penalties. Section 135 requires a complaint, written particulars, a reasonable opportunity to answer and a hearing if requested before a fine or other penalty. No bylaw can authorize skipping it.
• Hearings. Section 34.1 guarantees an owner or tenant a council hearing within 4 weeks of a written request.
• Records. Section 36 entitles owners to inspect and obtain copies of the strata's records within 2 weeks of a request, or within one week for bylaws and rules.
• Rentals. Section 141 now provides that the strata must not screen tenants, require tenant approval or otherwise restrict the rental of a strata lot.
• Pets. Under section 123, a pet bylaw does not apply to guide or service dogs, or to a pet already living in the strata lot lawfully when the prohibiting bylaw was passed.

These are the areas where "but our bylaws say" is not an answer.

The Standard Bylaws are the default, not a separate layer

Section 120 provides that a strata's bylaws are the Standard Bylaws except to the extent that different bylaws are filed in the land title office. Two practical consequences follow.

First, a building that has never filed its own bylaws is governed by the Standard Bylaws in the Schedule to the Act.

Second, a building that has filed its own bylaws is usually governed by a mix: its filed bylaws where they differ, and the Standard Bylaws on anything its filed bylaws do not replace. Owners regularly argue that "the Act says" something when it is actually a Standard Bylaw their building has amended, or that "our bylaws are silent" when a Standard Bylaw quietly fills the gap. The only reliable approach is to read the registered bylaws together with the Schedule.

Older buildings have one more wrinkle. For strata corporations created under the former Condominium Act, the Regulation applied the Standard Bylaws from January 1, 2002, except where conflicting bylaws were filed, and filed bylaws ceased to have effect on that date to the extent they conflict with the Act or the Regulation. A 1990s bylaw book may therefore contain provisions that have not been enforceable for decades.

A bylaw only exists once it is passed and filed

Many disputes are not about whether a bylaw is lawful but whether it exists at all.

• In a strata made up entirely of residential lots, a bylaw amendment needs a 3/4 vote at an annual or special general meeting (section 128). Mixed and non-residential stratas have their own rules.
• In a residential or bare land strata, no amendment can be made before the second annual general meeting unless it is passed by a unanimous vote (section 127).
• Once approved, the amendment must be filed in the land title office in the prescribed form, and until that filing, the amendment has no effect (section 128(2)).

A bylaw voted on last month but not yet filed is not in force. A "bylaw" the council adopted at a council meeting is not a bylaw at all. See how to change strata bylaws.

"To the extent": conflicts are surgical, not total

Section 121 makes a bylaw unenforceable to the extent that it conflicts with the law. A bylaw with one invalid clause does not usually take the whole bylaw down with it, and certainly does not invalidate the rest of the bylaw book. The lawful parts generally keep working.

The reverse is also true. An unenforceable bylaw does not disappear from the register on its own. It stays in the filed bylaws, misleading buyers and new council members, until the owners repeal or amend it. Cleaning those out at a regular bylaw review is good housekeeping.

Who decides when there is a conflict

A council can form a view, and often should, ideally with legal advice. But a binding answer comes from an adjudicator. The Civil Resolution Tribunal has jurisdiction over claims about the interpretation or application of the Strata Property Act or a regulation, bylaw or rule under it, and the Supreme Court can make orders requiring a strata to stop contravening the Act, regulations, bylaws or rules. See our CRT dispute guide.

Frequently asked questions

Does passing strata bylaws override the Strata Property Act? No. Bylaws exist because the Act authorizes them, and section 121 makes a bylaw unenforceable to the extent it contravenes the Act, the Regulation, the Human Rights Code or any other enactment or law.

Can bylaws change anything the Act says? Yes, where the Act invites it. Sections that say "subject to the bylaws" or "unless otherwise provided in the bylaws", such as the quorum rules in section 48, can be changed by a properly passed and filed bylaw, within any limits in the Act or Regulation.

Which wins: the Human Rights Code or the Strata Property Act? The Human Rights Code. Section 4 of the Code says it prevails over any other enactment in the event of a conflict.

If our strata filed its own bylaws, do the Standard Bylaws still apply? Usually in part. The Standard Bylaws apply except to the extent different bylaws are filed, so any Standard Bylaw your building has not replaced continues to govern.

Is a bylaw valid before it is filed at the land title office? No. An approved bylaw amendment has no effect until the Amendment to Bylaws is filed in the land title office.

Related reading

• Unenforceable Strata Bylaws in BC
• How to Change Strata Bylaws in BC
• Strata Rules vs Bylaws in BC: What's the Difference?
• The Strata Duty to Accommodate in BC
• Your Rights as a Strata Owner in BC

Sections 119 to 128 and the Schedule of Standard Bylaws are in the Strata Property Act; the fine and interest caps are in the Strata Property Regulation, and the Code's paramountcy clause is in the Human Rights Code.

A bylaw book that matches the law is one of the cheapest forms of dispute prevention a building can buy. Onehive reviews registered bylaws, prepares amendment resolutions and handles filing as part of strata management — request a proposal.