Strata GovernanceJuly 9, 2026 · 7 min read

What Must Be Included in Strata Council Meeting Minutes in BC

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.

Every decision your strata council makes should land in one place: the minutes. In a small BC building, council meeting minutes are far more than housekeeping — they are the official record of what your strata corporation decided, who was there, and when. Owners rely on them to know what council is doing on their behalf. A buyer's lawyer will read them before a sale closes. And if a disagreement ever reaches the Civil Resolution Tribunal (CRT), they become evidence. Getting them right matters — and so does knowing what to leave out.

Why council minutes carry legal weight

Under British Columbia's Strata Property Act, a strata corporation must keep proper records, and minutes are near the top of that list. They are not an informal recap you email around and forget. They are a permanent record of the corporation's decisions, and owners have a legal right to see them.

That legal status shows up in real ways. When a unit is sold, key information about the strata flows to the buyer through a Form B Information Certificate, and recent minutes are typically attached so the buyer can see what council has been dealing with. If an owner challenges a decision at the CRT, the minutes are often the first thing everyone points to. Clear, accurate minutes protect your council; vague or missing ones expose it. It is one of the quieter but important parts of the job — see our overview of strata council roles and responsibilities.

Council minutes vs. general meeting minutes

It helps to keep two kinds of minutes straight. Council meeting minutes record the regular business meetings your elected council holds through the year. General meeting minutes record the annual general meeting (AGM) and any special general meeting (SGM), where owners themselves vote on budgets, bylaws, and major spending.

Both must be kept, but they are not identical. General meeting minutes need to capture the outcome of each vote owners take — that is how the strata proves a resolution actually passed. Council minutes focus on the decisions council makes between those meetings. For the general-meeting side, our AGM prep guide walks through notice, quorum, and timing.

What must be included

Think of good council minutes as answering one question: what did we decide, and on what basis? At a minimum, aim to capture:

The basics — the date, the time, where the meeting was held (or a note that it was electronic), who attended, and confirmation that you had quorum to make decisions.
Approval of the previous minutes — a quick note that the last set was reviewed and adopted, with any corrections.
Every decision and its outcome — each motion council considered and how it was resolved. Recording who moved and seconded a motion, and the result, is good practice and makes the record easy to follow later.
Financial decisions — expenditures council approved, contracts awarded, and any spending from the operating fund or contingency reserve. Money decisions are the ones owners and buyers scrutinize most.
Correspondence and requests handled — the substance of what council dealt with, written so it respects privacy (more on that below).
Action items — who is doing what by when, so the next meeting has a clear starting point.

The strict legal minimum for council minutes is lighter than most people assume — the Act is more prescriptive about general meeting results — but in practice, a decisions-focused record is what protects everyone. If your council meets electronically, the same standards apply; check whether your bylaws allow it — see electronic strata meetings.

What to leave out (or handle with care)

Just as important as what goes in is what stays out. Minutes are a record of decisions, not a transcript, and over-sharing can breach privacy law or undermine your council.

Personal information about owners or tenants. BC's privacy legislation applies to stratas. When council discusses a bylaw complaint, arrears, or a hardship request, avoid naming the person — refer to a unit number, or keep the sensitive detail out of the general minutes entirely.
Verbatim debate and opinions. You do not need to record who said what, or editorial commentary about a neighbour. Record the decision, not the argument that got you there.
Legal advice. If council received advice from its lawyer, that is generally privileged. Note that advice was received, not its contents.
Sensitive enforcement detail. Discussions tied to a formal council hearing, or the specifics of a bylaw enforcement and fine matter, usually belong in separate confidential records rather than the minutes owners circulate.

When in doubt, write the entry so it would be fine for any owner to read — because any owner can.

Owners' right to see the minutes

Access is where a lot of small-building friction happens, and the rule is simpler than the arguments suggest: owners have a right to their strata's records, including minutes. The corporation must make them available on request within a set timeframe (often around a couple of weeks — confirm the current limit, as the regulations set the exact period). A strata may charge a modest per-page fee for copies, capped by regulation, but it cannot simply refuse a legitimate request.

Two related points for small buildings. First, distribute council minutes to all owners shortly after each meeting — it heads off the feeling that council operates in secret. Second, the strata must retain its minutes for a minimum period set by law, so store them somewhere durable, not just in a volunteer's inbox. For the bigger picture on what you can ask for, see your rights as a strata owner.

Practical tips for a small building

You do not need a professional secretary to produce solid minutes. You need a consistent habit:

Use the same template every meeting so nothing important gets skipped.
Draft while it is fresh and circulate quickly, then formally adopt the minutes at the next meeting.
Keep it tight and factual — a page or two of clear decisions beats ten pages of he-said-she-said.

If your council struggles to keep up, that is often a sign to revisit how often you meet — our note on ideal council size and meeting frequency can help.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Every strata's bylaws and situation differ — confirm current timelines, fees, and record-keeping requirements with a strata lawyer or licensed manager before you act.

Frequently asked questions

Are strata council minutes a public record in BC? Not public to the world. Owners, their authorized representatives, and — through the seller — a prospective buyer have a right to access them, but the general public does not.

How long does a strata have to provide minutes after an owner requests them? The Strata Property Act sets a specific timeframe, often around a couple of weeks, and allows a small per-page copying fee capped by regulation. Because the exact figures can change, confirm the current rule before relying on a number.

Can a strata refuse to give an owner the minutes? Generally no, for ordinary council and general meeting minutes. A strata can redact narrow categories of confidential material — such as privileged legal advice or another person's private information — but it cannot use that as a blanket excuse to deny access.

Do we have to record everything said at a council meeting? No. Minutes capture decisions and outcomes, not a word-for-word transcript. Recording the motion, the result, and any action items is enough.

Should we name an owner in the minutes when discussing a complaint? Best practice is not to. Refer to the unit or keep sensitive specifics out of the circulated minutes to respect privacy law.