What a BC Strata Council President Can and Cannot Do

An owner emails the president about a leaking tap in the lobby washroom. The president tells the manager to send a plumber. Nobody objects, the tap gets fixed, and everybody is happy — until the day the president tells the manager to sign a $40,000 remediation contract the same way, and the strata discovers the decision was never actually made.

The Strata Property Act does not create the office of president.* It creates a council, gives that council the powers and duties of the strata corporation, and leaves the officers to the bylaws. That single fact explains almost every misunderstanding about what a president can do.

This article is general information about the Strata Property Act and your bylaws, not legal advice. Your registered bylaws may differ from the standard ones described here — read yours.

Where the role actually comes from

Under the Act, the council exercises the powers and performs the duties of the strata corporation. Not the president. Not the president and the manager. The council, acting collectively, by vote, at a meeting.

The office of president comes from your bylaws. Under the standard bylaws, at the first council meeting after each annual general meeting, council elects a president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer from among its own members. One person can hold more than one of those offices, with the exception that the same person cannot be both president and vice-president.

Two things follow immediately. The president is elected by council, not by the owners — owners elect the council, and the council picks its own officers. And a president can be replaced by council between AGMs without anyone leaving the council. If you want the wider picture of who does what, strata council roles and responsibilities sets out the full set.

What the president is genuinely responsible for

Chairing meetings. The president presides at council meetings and at general meetings. In practice this is the largest part of the job and the part that most determines whether a strata functions: keeping to the agenda, ensuring motions are put clearly, making sure quorum is present, and giving owners a fair opportunity to be heard at a general meeting without letting one dispute consume the evening.

Breaking a tie. The standard bylaws give the president a second, deciding vote where a council vote is tied. That is the one place the president's vote counts for more than anyone else's — and it exists only after a tie, never instead of a vote.

Being the practical point of contact. Somebody has to be reachable when the manager needs a decision confirmed or the fire panel goes off at 2am. That is usually the president, and it is a convenience rather than an authority.

Signing what council has resolved. Contracts, bylaw filings and correspondence are commonly signed by the president. The signature executes a council decision; it does not substitute for one.

Setting the agenda. Not a formal power in most bylaws, but a real one. A president who puts declarations of interest, the arrears report and outstanding action items on every agenda runs a materially healthier strata than one who does not.

Keeping the council to the standard of care. Section 31 requires every council member to act honestly and in good faith with a view to the best interests of the strata corporation, and to exercise the care, diligence and skill of a reasonably prudent person. The president does not carry a higher standard, but is usually the person in the room best placed to notice when the group is drifting below it.

Five things a president cannot do

Make decisions alone. The most common failure. Approving spending, settling a dispute, agreeing to an alteration, or instructing the manager on a substantive matter without a council vote is acting without authority. In a small building where everything gets sorted by text message, this happens constantly and nobody notices until it matters.

Direct the strata manager independently. The manager's client is the corporation, acting through council. A president may be the designated channel for communication — many councils sensibly appoint one — but conveying council's instructions is not the same as issuing their own.

Enforce bylaws personally. Bylaw enforcement is a council function with a strict process: the complaint, written particulars to the owner, an opportunity to respond or request a hearing, then a council decision. A president who sends a fine letter without council having decided has created a fine that will not survive challenge. Strata bylaw enforcement and fines in BC covers the sequence.

Approve spending. Expenditure comes from an approved budget, from the contingency reserve fund by the required vote, or under the narrow unapproved-expenditure and emergency provisions of the Act. None of those routes runs through the president.

Decide who attends a general meeting. Attendance rights come from the Act and the bylaws. The chair controls the conduct of the meeting, not the guest list.

A useful test before acting: could you point to the minute that authorises this? If the honest answer is "everyone knew I would handle it," you are relying on custom rather than authority. Custom works right up until an owner, an insurer or a tribunal asks the same question — and then a decision that was probably correct on the merits becomes indefensible on process. The fix is almost never to do less; it is to get the decision minuted, including by ratifying at the next meeting something that had to be handled between meetings.

When the president should step back

Even where the president has authority, there are moments to hand the chair to the vice-president:

• Anything involving their own unit — an enforcement file, an alteration request, arrears, an insurance claim. Sections 32 and 33 require disclosure, abstention, leaving the room and no attempt to influence the vote. There is no exception for the chair.
• A dispute where they are personally involved, including a conflict with a neighbour or with the manager.
• A matter where they are simply the loudest voice. A chair who has already argued the point cannot credibly run the vote on it.
• Legal and technical questions. The right answer is usually a lawyer, engineer or accountant, not a confident volunteer. Knowing when to say "we need advice" is a skill.

What makes a president effective

The presidents whose buildings run well tend to do the same handful of things.

They finish the meeting with decisions, not discussion — every item ends in a resolution, a deferral with a date, or an assignment to a named person.

They keep a live action list and open every meeting with it, so nothing survives three agendas untouched.

They put the money in front of council monthly rather than annually. A council that has read the statements is a council that is not surprised at budget time; see how to read your strata's financial statements.

They spread the work. A president doing four people's jobs is a single point of failure, and burnout is the most common reason good councils collapse. Recruiting and keeping council volunteers covers the succession problem.

They communicate the reasoning, not just the outcome. Owners accept unwelcome decisions far more readily when they understand the constraint behind them, and the minutes are where that reasoning lives — see what must be included in council minutes.

They keep a boundary with the manager. A president who tries to do the manager's job ends up with neither role done properly, and a manager who is used as a substitute for council decisions cannot protect the corporation. What a strata manager actually does is a useful thing for a new council to read together.

If your president has overstepped

It is usually a governance problem rather than a bad actor — an engaged volunteer filling a vacuum nobody else stepped into. Deal with it structurally.

Raise it at a council meeting and ask that the decision be ratified properly, which fixes the authority problem going forward without a fight. Ask that declarations of interest and a standing action list go on every agenda. If the pattern continues, owners can remove a council member at a general meeting — the mechanics are in how to remove a strata council member in BC. Where the conduct is more serious than procedural, dealing with a difficult or bullying strata council sets out the owner's options, up to and including the Civil Resolution Tribunal.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Strata Property Act define the strata council president's duties in BC? No. The Act gives the powers and duties of the strata corporation to the council as a whole. The office of president comes from the bylaws — under the standard bylaws, council elects a president from among its members after each AGM.

Can a strata council president make decisions on their own? No. Decisions belong to council, taken by vote at a council meeting, or to the owners at a general meeting where the Act or bylaws require it. A president acting alone is acting without authority, even if the decision is a sensible one.

Do owners elect the president directly? No. Owners elect the council at the annual general meeting, and the council then elects its own president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer. Council can also change officers between AGMs.

Does the president get an extra vote? Only to break a tie. Under the standard bylaws the president may cast a second, deciding vote where a council vote is tied. Otherwise their vote counts the same as everyone else's.

Can the president instruct the strata manager? Only to convey what council has decided. Many councils appoint the president as the single point of contact for efficiency, but that is a communication channel, not authority to give the manager new instructions.

Related reading

• Strata Council Roles & Responsibilities in BC
• Strata Council Code of Conduct in BC
• How to Remove a Strata Council Member in BC
• Ideal Strata Council Size and How Often to Meet in BC
• The BC Strata AGM Prep Guide: Notice, Quorum & Timeline

The council provisions sit in Part 4 of the Strata Property Act, and the standard bylaws are in the Schedule of Standard Bylaws — worth reading alongside your own registered set, which may have replaced them.

A president who does not have to carry the administration can concentrate on chairing well. Onehive provides strata management to communities across Metro Vancouver — request a proposal.