What you need to know if you are or want to be a Strata Council member?
The following information is provided taking into account, your Strata Corporation is managed by an Ascent strata agent.
Strata Agent Licensed Under RESA
Your strata agent is licensed under the Real Estate Services Act (RESA) of British Columbia and is required to know the details of the Strata Property Act to effectively manage and administer a Strata Corporation as directed by an elected strata Council. So leave the details to your strata agent.
So unless you want to study the whole Strata Property Act, here are the basics. Certain duties are imposed on the Strata Council under the Strata Property Act and common-law.
First and foremost council members are to act honestly and in good faith and avoid conflicts.
Section 31 of the Strata Property Act establishes the duties of a Strata Council member.
Council member’s standard of care
31 In exercising the powers and performing the duties of the strata corporation, each council member must
(a) act honestly and in good faith with a view to the best interests of the strata corporation, and
(b) exercise the care, diligence and skill of a reasonably prudent person in comparable circumstances.
Now that we have defined how a strata council member must act, let’s touch on:
What is a Strata Corporation?
A Strata Corporation is a legal entity with all the powers of a natural person, who has full capacity.
This means that it can sue others, be sued by others, enter into contracts with others and hire employees.
The owners of the strata lots are the members of the Strata Corporation.
For example, if a Strata Corporation is responsible for paying a court ordered judgment, the owners of the Strata Corporation are personally liable to pay their portion of the judgment, which is in proportion to their unit entitlement. The Strata Corporation does not have limited liability like a company.
What does the Strata Corporation do?
The Strata Corporation is responsible for the managing, administering and maintaining of the common property and assets of the strata development for the benefit of all its owners.
The specific obligations of the Strata Corporation are usually performed by the Strata Council, or agents or employees, which it hires.
The Strata Council is delegated by the Owners, the authority of the Strata Corporation for the implementation of maintenance and repairs of the assets and facilities, enforcement of bylaws, financial operations, record keeping, court actions and arbitrations, forms for real estate transactions, service contracts, insurance and emergencies, convening of Council meetings and general meetings, and overall general operations of the Strata Corporation has sent out by the Strata Property Act (SPA). See Blog 2 – The Basics of SPA.
Who makes decisions on behalf of the Strata Corporation?
Decisions of the Strata Corporation are made either by the eligible voters of the Strata Corporation at a general meeting or the Strata Council at a Strata Council meeting.
A Strata Corporation is a governed community and can be referred to as fourth level government after federal, provincial and municipal. A Strata Corporation is run by democratic principles, such as:
In a residential Strata Corporation, normally, each strata lot unit gets one vote.
At every annual general meeting, the owners will elect the Strata Council to manage the Strata Corporation.
Voting takes place as follows: at a general meeting owners can direct the Strata Council by a simple majority vote resolution, 50% plus one.
A three quarter vote is required for special expenditures such as raising funds and changing bylaws.
At Strata Council meetings each member has one vote; a majority vote is required for the passage of any matter within the strata council’s authority.
Sections of the Strata Property Act entitle owners to bring matters to a general meeting by first obtaining 25% or more of the owners to agree in writing as a petition to the Strata Council.
Strata Council members should be aware of the following notice requirements:
Please note the source of the requirements is included. “Section” refers to a section of the Strata Property Act, “standard bylaws” refer to the standard bylaws of the Strata Property Act, unless otherwise amended by the Strata Corporation by a ¾ vote of the owners at a general meeting, each strata Corporation should refer to their own bylaws.
| Council meetings |
at least one week |
standard bylaws 14 |
| General meetings section
plus first & last day don’t count |
at least 20 days |
45, section 61(3) |
| Minutes distribution |
within two weeks |
standard bylaw 19 |
| Hearings |
within one month of request |
standard bylaw 15(2) |
| Hearing |
decision within one week |
standard bylaw 15(3) |
| Records |
within two weeks of request |
section 36(3) |
| General meeting petition |
within four weeks |
section 43(3) |
See Blog #2 – The Basics of the Strata Property Act (SPA).
The Strata Property Act consists of 319 section, plus definitions, standard bylaws and regulations. We have narrowed down your reading to 30 sections plus definitions and your bylaws to get you up and more informed than the average council member.
We welcome any feedback you may have regarding this article, e.g. what else would you like to know, any questions, how can we improve the information we are providing?
