Preparing a BC Strata AGM — Budget, Notice, Resolutions, Quorum

A strata AGM in British Columbia is a statutory event. The Strata Property Act (SPA) fixes when it must happen, what the notice must contain, how many owners must attend for business to proceed, which vote thresholds govern which decisions, and what record the strata corporation must keep afterwards. For a self-managed strata — or a professionally managed strata whose council wants to run the meeting well — the margin between a clean AGM and a meeting whose resolutions end up overturned at the Civil Resolution Tribunal is about six weeks of disciplined preparation. This guide is the operational checklist for those six weeks.

Six weeks out — lock the date and draft the notice

SPA s.40 requires the AGM to be held within two months of the fiscal year end. A strata with a December 31 fiscal year-end must hold its AGM by February 28; a strata with a September 30 fiscal year-end has until November 30. Council should book the date at least six weeks in advance — the minimum two-week notice period under s.45 plus the four-day deemed-receipt rule means the notice package must be finalised and dispatched about 18 days before the meeting, and the preparation work (draft budget, draft resolutions, auditor’s report if applicable) takes two to four weeks before that.

A newly created strata has its first AGM within six weeks of the earlier of (a) nine months after the first strata lot is conveyed, or (b) the date more than 50% of the strata lots have been conveyed by the owner-developer. Council in a new strata should treat the six-week countdown as tight — the developer’s first-year budget and interim financials must be cleaned up and presented.

What goes in the notice package — SPA s.45(3)

The notice package is not a courtesy — it is the statutory record of what owners are being asked to vote on. It must contain:

• The date, time, and location of the meeting (physical, electronic, or hybrid)
• If electronic participation is offered, the technology platform and the login instructions
• A description of every matter to be voted on
• The exact wording of every resolution requiring a 3/4, 80%, or unanimous vote — including special levies, CRF expenditures above the depreciation-report-recommended repair category, bylaw amendments, and any change to a strata management contract
• The proposed budget for the next fiscal year
• The financial statements for the year just ended (and the auditor’s report, if one exists)
• Any matter added by a written petition of owners holding at least 20% of votes

Items that are strongly recommended but not strictly required: the minutes from the previous AGM, the current insurance summary, any proposed rule amendments the council intends to ratify, and a short treasurer’s or president’s report. A notice package missing any of the s.45(3) required items is defective, and resolutions passed against a defective notice can be set aside by the CRT.

Quorum — and the second-meeting rescue

Quorum under SPA s.48 is subject to the bylaws but defaults to eligible voters holding at least one-third of the strata corporation’s total votes, in person or by proxy. For stratas with fewer than four lots or fewer than four owners, quorum is two-thirds. If quorum is not present within 30 minutes of the scheduled start, the chair may adjourn the meeting. A reconvened meeting called within four weeks proceeds with whoever appears — there is no minimum quorum at the adjourned meeting.

This two-meeting structure is a safety net, not a strategy. Councils should aim to over-solicit proxies before the first call: a dozen returned proxies in a 40-unit building is often the difference between doing business and running a second meeting. Keep proxies simple — the standard CHOA Form A is widely accepted — and make clear to owners that a proxy can be limited to specific resolutions or given to the council generally.

Resolution thresholds — know which one you need

Getting the threshold wrong is the most common AGM procedural error:

• Majority (>50% of votes cast, abstentions don’t count): general motions, directing council, approving the budget, removing a council member mid-term (s.32), electing council (s.25), and CRF expenditures for depreciation-report-recommended repairs and replacements (post-2023 amendment).
• 3/4 vote (75% of eligible votes cast, per SPA s.1 definition): bylaw amendments, special levies, most CRF expenditures outside the majority-vote exceptions, cancelling a strata management contract, designating limited common property.
• 80% vote: significant building or land-use changes prescribed by regulation — for example, major reallocation of strata fees between sections.
• Unanimous vote: amending bylaws before the second AGM in a residential strata; special levies apportioned by “fair division” rather than unit entitlement (s.108).

A resolution that is passed by a majority when a 3/4 vote was required is invalid, even if the owners’ intent was clear. Conversely, a resolution that is passed by a 3/4 vote when a bare majority was sufficient remains valid — but the higher threshold was not required.

Special levies and CRF expenditure

A special levy (SPA s.100) is used when an expense was not budgeted or when CRF funds are insufficient. The resolution must specify the purpose, the total amount, each lot’s share (usually by unit entitlement), the exact dollar amount each lot must pay, and the payment deadline. It requires a 3/4 vote. For safety-related repairs where a 3/4 vote cannot be obtained, SPA s.92 allows the strata to apply to BC Supreme Court to approve the levy with a bare majority — a rarely used but real emergency mechanism.

Contingency Reserve Fund expenditure (SPA ss.92–96) is now layered: effective November 1, 2023, strata corporations must contribute at least 10% of the annual operating budget to the CRF each fiscal year; if the CRF balance falls below 25% of the operating budget, a mandatory top-up applies. CRF spending for repairs and replacements recommended in the depreciation report requires only a majority vote; other CRF expenditures still require a 3/4 vote; emergency safety spending (e.g., an elevator failure) requires no owner vote at all under s.98.

Budget approval and council elections

The annual operating budget is approved by a simple majority at the AGM. Owners may move amendments from the floor before the final vote — raise a contingency line, reduce a discretionary one — provided the amendments stay within the SPA framework (the 10% CRF contribution minimum cannot be reduced). If no budget passes, the prior year’s budget continues in effect until a special general meeting amends it, which is a workable outcome but not a desirable one.

Council is elected by majority vote at every AGM under s.25. Unless the bylaws specify otherwise, there is no term limit and no requirement of advance nomination — nominations may be taken from the floor. Proxies stand in the owner’s shoes and can nominate, move motions, and vote. Licensed strata property managers and their employees are prohibited from acting as proxies under s.56 — this catches councils by surprise when the incumbent manager volunteers to “help” collect votes.

Running the electronic or hybrid portion

Since Bill 44 (the Building and Strata Statutes Amendment Act, 2022) took effect November 24, 2022, strata corporations may hold AGMs by telephone, video, or other electronic means, or as a hybrid of in-person and electronic. The platform must allow all participants to communicate simultaneously (not a one-way webinar), the chair must be able to identify whether a remote participant is an eligible voter (check against the roll), and the notice must include the participation instructions. Remote participants do not receive voting cards and cannot request a secret ballot — both procedural limitations worth communicating in the notice package so owners know what to expect.

Bottom line

A statute-compliant BC strata AGM is a six-week project with four non-negotiables: meeting held within two months of fiscal year end, notice package dispatched 18 days ahead containing the s.45(3) mandatory items, correct resolution threshold attached to each vote, and a record — minutes and financial statements — filed in the strata’s s.35 records. Councils that run that project well consistently pass their budgets, elect their council, and complete their year’s business in a single meeting that closes inside two hours. Councils that cut corners on any of the four typically end up answering a CRT claim within a few months of the meeting, and re-running the vote.