The Civil Resolution Tribunal: How BC Strata Disputes Actually Get Decided

An owner has been fined $200 a week for six months over a dog the bylaws arguably permit. Council will not budge. A lawyer would cost more than the fines. In most provinces that is where the story ends and the owner simply pays.

In British Columbia it is where the Civil Resolution Tribunal comes in. Since 2016 the CRT has been the default forum for strata disputes in this province: online, designed for people without lawyers, and — unusually — with no monetary cap on strata claims.

This article is general information about the Civil Resolution Tribunal and the Strata Property Act, not legal advice. Time limits apply to claims and missing one can end a good case, so get advice if you are near a deadline.

What the CRT is

The CRT is a public tribunal, not a court. Almost everything happens online: you file through a website, exchange submissions electronically, and receive a written decision. Most disputes are resolved on the documents without anyone appearing anywhere.

Two features matter more than any others.

Parties normally represent themselves. The tribunal is built for that, and lawyers generally need the CRT's permission to act in a strata dispute. A strata corporation is usually represented by a council member. This is a deliberate levelling of a field that used to favour whoever could afford counsel.

There is no monetary limit on strata claims. The CRT's small claims stream is capped, but its strata jurisdiction is not. A $300 fine and a $300,000 repair dispute go to the same place.

What the CRT can decide

Most strata disputes, including:

• Bylaw and rule disputes — whether a bylaw is valid, whether it was properly enforced, whether a fine stands. See strata bylaw enforcement and fines in BC and unenforceable strata bylaws in BC.
• Repair and maintenance responsibility — the recurring argument about whether a failure is the owner's or the corporation's. Who's responsible: strata vs owner repairs covers the underlying rules.
• Money owed — unpaid strata fees, fines, chargebacks and special levies, in either direction.
• Records and information — a strata that will not produce what an owner is entitled to.
• Meetings and votes — defective notice, improper conduct of a general meeting, disputed vote results.
• Common property use — parking, storage, alterations, pets, noise, short-term rentals.
• Significantly unfair conduct — decisions that are technically permitted but unfairly applied to one owner. That remedy is worth understanding on its own; see "significantly unfair" strata decisions in BC.

What it cannot decide

• Human rights complaints. Discrimination and accommodation claims belong to the BC Human Rights Tribunal. If your dispute is really about a disability accommodation, that is a different forum — although the underlying bylaw question may still be a CRT matter.
• Residential tenancy disputes. Landlord and tenant issues go to the Residential Tenancy Branch. Where a tenant's conduct triggers a strata bylaw, the strata's route is against the owner.
• Matters reserved to the courts, including the forced sale of a strata lot to satisfy a judgment, and the winding-up of a strata corporation.
• Criminal conduct. Threats, assault and theft are police matters. Strata issue or police matter? draws the line.

The CRT can also refuse a claim it considers better suited to another forum.

Do this before you apply

Applications fail more often on preparation than on the merits, and the tribunal expects to see that you tried to resolve things first.

Put it in writing. A dated letter or email setting out what you want and why. Verbal complaints leave no record and no evidence.

Request the records. You are entitled to minutes, bylaws, financial records and correspondence, and the strata must respond within the statutory timeframe. The paper trail is usually where a case is won.

Request a council hearing. An owner can require council to hear them in person, and council must hold the hearing within the period the Act allows. Many disputes end here, and the tribunal will want to know whether you asked. Strata council hearings in BC covers how to request one properly.

Watch the clock. The general limitation period in BC is two years from the day the claim was discovered. Filing with the CRT stops that clock. A dispute you have been patiently pursuing for three years may already be out of time.

How a CRT dispute actually runs

Stage one — Solution Explorer. A free, anonymous, self-guided tool on the CRT website. Answer questions about your problem and it produces tailored information and template letters. No application, no fee. A meaningful proportion of people resolve their problem here and never file.

Stage two — the application. You file online, name the respondent — usually "The Owners, Strata Plan ABC 1234" — describe the dispute and say what outcome you want. There is a filing fee in the low hundreds of dollars, and a fee-waiver process where paying it would be a hardship. The respondent is served and files a response.

Stage three — negotiation. The parties talk directly through the CRT's secure platform for a short period. No facilitator, no formality.

Stage four — facilitation. A CRT case manager works with both sides to settle. This is where most disputes end. A settlement can be recorded as a binding consent order, which is worth insisting on — an informal agreement with a strata council that changes membership next AGM is worth very little.

Stage five — tribunal decision. If facilitation fails, the case goes to a tribunal member who decides it on written submissions and evidence. Oral hearings happen but are the exception. You will be given deadlines to file evidence and argument, and the member issues written reasons, published on the CRT website.

Timelines vary with complexity, but a straightforward strata dispute running to a decision typically takes several months rather than weeks.

The decision, and what it is worth

CRT strata decisions are final and binding. This surprises people who have read about the CRT's small claims process, where a party can object and push the matter to court. That objection route does not apply to strata disputes. A CRT strata decision stands, subject only to judicial review on limited grounds.

The tribunal can order money paid, order a strata to do or stop doing something, order records produced, set aside or vary a decision, and — where conduct was significantly unfair — grant a remedy the bylaws alone would not.

An order can be filed in court and enforced like a judgment.

One consequence councils underrate: CRT decisions are published and searchable. A buyer's lawyer, a prospective owner, or an owner considering their own claim can read exactly how your strata behaved and what the tribunal thought of it. That is a reasonable argument for settling a weak file early, and an equally reasonable argument for defending a strong one properly rather than folding to avoid the nuisance.

On costs, expect the CRT to order the unsuccessful party to reimburse tribunal fees and reasonable dispute-related expenses. Legal fees are generally not awarded, which is consistent with a forum built for self-representation. Note also that the Act restricts a strata's ability to charge its own costs of a tribunal proceeding back to the owner it was in dispute with — a strata that adds its legal bill to your account after losing should be asked for its authority.

If you are the council receiving one

Do not take it personally, and do not ignore it.

Respond within the deadline; failing to respond can result in a decision against the corporation by default. Tell the owners — CRT decisions are published, so it will not stay quiet, and a corporation defending a claim is spending everyone's money. Notify your insurer, since some claims engage coverage. Gather the paper early: minutes recording the decision, the notice sent, the bylaw as registered, the correspondence.

Then ask the honest question: was the process followed? If a fine was imposed without written particulars and an opportunity to respond, the CRT will say so, and settling early is cheaper than being told in a published decision. Where the underlying problem is a pattern rather than one file, dealing with a difficult or bullying strata council is the owner-side view of what that pattern looks like from outside.

Frequently asked questions

What kinds of strata disputes can the Civil Resolution Tribunal decide in BC? Most of them: bylaw and fine disputes, repair and maintenance responsibility, unpaid fees and levies, records requests, defective meetings and votes, common property use, and significantly unfair conduct. It cannot decide human rights complaints, residential tenancy matters, or the forced sale or winding-up of a strata.

Is there a dollar limit on CRT strata claims? No. Unlike the CRT's small claims stream, strata disputes have no monetary cap, so a small fine and a major repair claim are handled in the same forum.

Do I need a lawyer for a CRT strata dispute? Generally not, and generally you cannot have one without the tribunal's permission. The CRT is designed for self-represented parties, and a strata corporation is usually represented by a council member.

Can a CRT strata decision be appealed in BC? Not through the objection process that applies to small claims — that route does not exist for strata disputes. A CRT strata decision is final and binding, subject only to judicial review by the courts on limited grounds.

How long do I have to file a CRT claim against my strata? The general limitation period in BC is two years from when the claim was discovered, and filing with the CRT stops the clock. Long-running disputes can quietly go out of time, so check the date before you keep negotiating.

Related reading

• Your Rights as a Strata Owner in BC
• Strata Council Hearings in BC: Your Right to Be Heard
• Strata Bylaw Enforcement & Fines in BC: How to Do It Right
• Dealing With a Difficult or Bullying Strata Council in BC
• Strata Issue or Police Matter? Handling Disputes and Nuisance in BC

The tribunal's own Solution Explorer is the right first stop, its published decisions are searchable and genuinely readable, and the tribunal's powers sit in the Civil Resolution Tribunal Act alongside Part 10 of the Strata Property Act.

The cheapest CRT dispute is the one that never starts, and most start with a process that was not followed. Onehive provides strata management across Metro Vancouver — request a proposal.