British Columbia condo and strata rules: a board reference

Section 45 requires the strata corporation to give at least 2 weeks' written notice of an annual or special general meeting to every owner, to every mortgagee who has filed a Mortgagee's Request for Notification, and to tenants who have been assigned the landlord's right to vote. At least 4 weeks' notice is required for a meeting that will consider a winding-up resolution. Owners may waive notice in writing. Electronic attendance and voting are allowed unless the bylaws restrict them.

Section 35 lists the records the strata must keep and section 36 requires the strata, on request, to make them available for inspection and to provide copies to owners, to tenants who hold an assigned right, and to people authorised in writing by them. Former owners and tenants may request records for their period of ownership or tenancy. Keep minutes, bylaws, depreciation reports, insurance and correspondence organised so a request can be met inside the statutory period.

Section 92 requires an operating fund for expenses that occur once a year or more often and a contingency reserve fund (CRF) for expenses that occur less often. Under regulation section 6.1, the annual CRF contribution must be at least 10 percent of the amount budgeted for the operating fund and must be set after considering the most recent depreciation report.

Section 94 requires a depreciation report from a qualified person estimating the repair and replacement cost and expected life of major items. Regulation section 6.21 requires a new report at least once every 5 years. Strata corporations established before July 1, 2024 that had not obtained a report since December 31, 2020 must obtain one before July 1, 2026 if located in the Capital, Fraser Valley or Metro Vancouver regional districts, or before July 1, 2027 elsewhere. New stratas must obtain a first report within 2 years of their first AGM (18 months if established on or after July 1, 2027). Regulation section 6.22 exempts a strata for as long as it has fewer than 5 strata lots. The former annual three-quarter vote to defer a report no longer applies.

Strata fees and special levies are set by the approved budget and resolutions. A bylaw may charge interest on late strata fees, capped by regulation section 6.8 at 10 percent per year compounded annually. Section 132 requires the bylaws to state the maximum fine for each contravention; regulation section 7.1 caps those at $200 per bylaw contravention and $50 per rule contravention, or $1,000 for a contravention of a bylaw that prohibits or limits short-term vacation rentals. Section 130 sets who can be fined and section 133 lets the strata remedy a contravention and charge the reasonable cost. Unpaid strata fees and levies can be secured by a lien on the strata lot under the Act.

Council is elected at the AGM under the Act and the bylaws. Resolutions pass by the vote thresholds the Act sets for each kind of decision, so the minutes should record the count whenever a special threshold applies. Proxies must be in writing and signed. Record the count in the minutes for every resolution that needs a special threshold.

Section 59 requires the strata, within one week of a request by an owner, purchaser or their authorised person, to give an Information Certificate (Form B) on the prescribed form disclosing the monthly strata fees, amounts the owner owes, agreements on alterations, special levies, the CRF balance, pending court or tribunal proceedings, and the other items the section lists, with the required attachments including the current bylaws and rules, budget and depreciation report. Section 115 requires a Certificate of Payment (Form F) within one week when the owner owes nothing or has made satisfactory arrangements; the regulation caps the Form F fee at $15 and the certificate is current for 60 days.