Know Your Strata · British Columbia
The rules boards get wrong most often — the three deadlines and thresholds that most often invalidate a decision, each with the section it comes from and the trap that catches councils.
Counting 14 days on the calendar is how councils send notice late. Two other rules stretch the period.
| 14 days | The Act requires "at least 2 weeks' written notice." | SPA s. 45(1) |
| + 2 days | Counting "at least" a period excludes the first and last days. | Interpretation Act ss. 25, 25.2 |
| + 4 days | Notice mailed, emailed, faxed, or left in a mailbox or under a door is deemed received 4 days after it is given. | SPA s. 61(3) |
| = 20 days | Before the meeting date. Notice handed directly to a person is received immediately, so only the 16 clear days apply. | — |
Watch out for: authorities genuinely differ on whether the strict count is 20 or 21 days, so build in a buffer that satisfies both readings. A winding-up resolution needs at least 4 weeks, not 2 (s. 45(1.1)). And while s. 47 forgives a reasonable attempt at notice that goes astray, it does not forgive counting the days wrong.
Do the math: knowyourstrata.com/bc/agm-notice — AGM / SGM notice calculator
Business must not be conducted at a general meeting unless a quorum is present (s. 48(1)). Vote without one and the decisions are open to challenge.
| 1/3 | Of the strata corporation's total votes, held by eligible voters present in person or by proxy. | SPA s. 48(2)(a) |
| 2/3 | Instead, if there are fewer than 4 strata lots or fewer than 4 owners. | SPA s. 48(2)(b) |
| ½ hour | No quorum? The meeting adjourns to the same day the next week, same time and place. If quorum is still absent ½ hour after that meeting is called, the eligible voters present constitute a quorum, however few. | SPA s. 48(3) |
Watch out for: the fraction is measured against the strata's total votes, not against attendance or the number of eligible owners. Proxies count the same as bodies in the room. And s. 48(2) applies "subject to the bylaws" while s. 48(3) applies "unless otherwise provided in the bylaws" — a registered bylaw setting a different quorum governs instead.
Do the math: knowyourstrata.com/bc/quorum — quorum calculator
Unit entitlement is not mandatory — it is the method that carries on a 3/4 vote. Any other fair division needs unanimity.
| 3/4 vote | Each lot's share calculated by unit entitlement — its own entitlement ÷ the total entitlement of all lots, applied to the levy. | SPA s. 108(2)(a), s. 99 |
| Unanimous | Any other method that is a fair division of expenses for that levy — including equal shares. | SPA s. 108(2)(b) |
The approving resolution must set out all five:
Watch out for: a 3/4 vote cannot authorise an equal split unless the entitlements happen to be equal, or your strata has a different formula filed in the Land Title Office under s. 100, which s. 108(2)(a) covers too. Miss any one of the five items above and the resolution can be challenged even when the arithmetic is right (s. 108(3)). Entitlement numbers come from the Schedule of Unit Entitlement filed at the Land Title Office (s. 246) — pull them, don't estimate.
Do the math: knowyourstrata.com/bc/special-levy — special levy calculator
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