Pick the decision you're facing. Get the threshold the Act requires — majority, 3/4, 80% or unanimous — and the exact section it comes from, so the resolution isn't challenged for using the wrong bar.
Choose a decision first.
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✓ Verified August 15, 2026 · Strata Property Act
Sources checked automatically every Monday. Last check October 5, 2026, no change found.See the record
The four thresholds, and what each counts
Majority
More than 1/2 of the votes cast by eligible voters present in person or by proxy, ignoring abstentions.
s. 1
3/4 vote
At least 3/4 of the votes cast by eligible voters present in person or by proxy, ignoring abstentions.
s. 1
80% vote
At least 80% of the votes of all the eligible voters — not just those who turned up.
s. 1
Unanimous
All the votes of all the eligible voters. One absent owner is enough to defeat it.
s. 1
The base changes, and that is what catches councils. Majority and 3/4 count only the votes actually cast in the room. 80% and unanimous count every eligible vote in the strata, so an owner who stays home counts as a no.
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Why the threshold is the thing that gets challenged
The Strata Property Act defines four vote types in section 1, then assigns one to each kind of decision throughout the Act. Run a decision at the wrong bar and the resolution is vulnerable even when everyone agreed in the room, because the Act — not the meeting — sets the requirement.
The definitions are worth reading closely, because two of them count a different population:
"majority vote" means a vote in favour of a resolution by more than 1/2 of the votes cast by eligible voters who are present in person or by proxy at the time the vote is taken and who have not abstained from voting … "80% vote" means a vote in favour of a resolution by at least 80% of the votes of all the eligible voters … "unanimous vote" means a vote in favour of a resolution by all the votes of all the eligible voters.
So a 3/4 vote is three quarters of the votes actually cast — abstentions and absentees simply drop out. An 80% or unanimous vote is measured against every eligible vote in the strata, which is why winding up and changing unit entitlement are so much harder to carry than a bylaw amendment: the people who never show up are counted, and they count against you.
What your bylaws can and cannot change
Most of these thresholds are fixed by the Act and a bylaw cannot lower them. Of the decisions in this tool, the only one the Act itself opens to variation is bylaw amendment in a non-residential strata: section 128(1)(b) allows a 3/4 vote "or as otherwise provided in the bylaws", and section 128(1)(c) extends the same latitude to the non-residential half of a mixed strata. Everything else here is stated by the Act without any "subject to the bylaws" qualifier.
What your bylaws can always do is add requirements — extra notice, a further approval step, conditions on when a matter may be put. So treat the answer here as the floor set by the Act, then read your registered bylaws for anything stacked on top. Where the two differ, the stricter one governs.
Is there such a thing as a "special resolution" in BC strata law?
Not in this Act. "Special resolution" is a term from company legislation and does not appear in the Strata Property Act's definitions — the Act uses majority, 3/4, 80% and unanimous. If a document or a manager refers to a special resolution, ask which of the four they actually mean.
Do abstentions count against a 3/4 vote?
No. The definition counts votes cast by eligible voters "who have not abstained from voting," so an abstention is not a no — it leaves the pool entirely. That is the opposite of an 80% or unanimous vote, where an owner who does not vote at all still counts in the denominator.
Do we need a vote at all to fix something urgently?
Not for a significant change to common property where "there are reasonable grounds to believe that immediate change is necessary to ensure safety or prevent significant loss or damage" (s. 71(a)). That is a narrow emergency exception, not a general shortcut.
Why do EV charging decisions keep appearing at a lower threshold?
The Act was amended to make EV infrastructure easier to approve. A significant change to common property related to EV charging needs only a majority vote (s. 71(b)(i)) rather than 3/4, and CRF spending on EV charging is in the majority-vote list in s. 96.
Our strata has fewer than 5 lots — is winding up simpler?
The 80% vote still applies. What changes is the court step: confirmation by the court is required for strata plans with 5 or more lots (ss. 273.1 and 278.1). Wind-up is complex and lawyer territory regardless — this tool gives the vote, not the process.
Is this legal advice?
No. It's general information based on the current legislation, verified against the sources linked above. Your registered bylaws may add requirements, and for anything contested, talk to a strata lawyer.