In camera strata council meetings: when council can close the door
Owners have a right to watch council meetings. There are a few moments when that right gives way to someone's privacy. Knowing exactly where the line sits keeps council out of trouble on both sides.
Last reviewed November 10, 2026, against the current Strata Property Act, Strata Property Regulation and Standard Bylaws on BC Laws.
The short answer
Under Standard Bylaw 17, owners may attend council meetings as observers, except for the portions that deal with bylaw contravention hearings under section 135 and any other matter where, in council's opinion, observers would unreasonably interfere with an individual's privacy. Council cannot close a whole meeting simply because a topic is awkward. Decisions made in camera must still be recorded in the minutes with the result of the vote, worded so that personal details are protected.
What "in camera" means
"In camera" is Latin for "in a chamber". At a strata council meeting it means the part of the meeting held with observers out of the room. The term does not appear in the Strata Property Act or the Standard Bylaws. The authority to exclude observers comes from Standard Bylaw 17(4), or from your strata's own bylaw if it has replaced the standard one. Check your filed bylaws first, because some stratas have amended this bylaw to allow more or less.
When observers may be excluded
Under the Standard Bylaws there are two grounds.
- Bylaw contravention hearings under section 135. When an owner or tenant answers a complaint at a hearing, no observers may attend.
- Privacy. Any other matter if the presence of observers would, in council's opinion, unreasonably interfere with an individual's privacy.
Examples that commonly meet the privacy ground:
- An owner's request for accommodation involving a health condition.
- Arrears and payment arrangements for an identifiable owner.
- A complaint about a named person, before or apart from a hearing.
- Employment matters concerning a caretaker or other employee.
- A hearing an owner requested under section 34.1 where personal matters will be discussed.
Legal advice about a dispute with an owner is usually dealt with privately as well. An owner who is suing or being sued by the strata has no right to attend the portions of meetings where the suit is discussed (section 169).
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When council may not close the meeting
The privacy ground is about an individual's privacy, not council's comfort. These do not qualify on their own:
- Choosing a contractor or comparing quotations.
- The budget, a special levy, or a fee increase.
- A disagreement among council members.
- Criticism of council's performance.
- Any topic council would simply prefer owners not hear.
A council that routinely closes its meetings invites complaints and a loss of trust that is hard to repair. If owners believe meetings are being closed improperly, their remedies are a hearing request, a general meeting resolution directing council under section 27, or the Civil Resolution Tribunal.
How to go in camera properly
- Put it on the agenda as a closed item at the end of the meeting, so observers can leave once and not return.
- State the ground in general terms: "a bylaw hearing" or "a matter affecting an individual's privacy".
- Record in the minutes the time council went in camera and the time it came out.
- Vote. Decisions must still be made by a majority of the council members present, as Standard Bylaw 18 requires.
- Report the outcome in privacy-safe wording.
The strata manager may stay if council wishes. A council member who is the subject of a complaint must not take part in the decision about it (section 136).
What goes in the minutes
There is no such thing as an unrecorded council decision. Section 35 requires minutes of council meetings including the results of any votes, and Standard Bylaw 18(3) repeats it. The skill is in the wording.
9. IN CAMERA
Council moved in camera at 8:12 p.m. to hold a hearing under section 135 and to consider a matter affecting an individual's privacy. Observers left the meeting.
9.1 Strata lot 22: bylaw 3(1)(b). Following a hearing, MOVED and SECONDED that council impose a fine of $50. CARRIED (4 in favour, 0 opposed).
9.2 Strata lot 8: request for accommodation. MOVED and SECONDED that the request be approved on the conditions set out in council's letter to the owner. CARRIED (4 in favour, 0 opposed).
Council returned to the open meeting at 8:41 p.m.
Some councils keep a second, fuller note of in camera discussions. Be cautious: owners are entitled to minutes of council meetings, and a document that is in substance minutes may have to be produced. Keep the working detail in correspondence files, such as the hearing letter and the decision letter, where it belongs.
What about general meetings?
There is no in camera portion of an annual or special general meeting for owners, since the owners are the meeting. People who are not eligible voters, including tenants and occupants, must leave if asked by a resolution passed by majority vote (Standard Bylaw 26). See who can attend a strata AGM.
Questions councils and owners ask
Can a strata council hold a meeting without owners present?
Council can exclude observers only for bylaw contravention hearings and matters where observers would unreasonably interfere with an individual's privacy, unless your strata's own bylaws say otherwise.
Are in camera minutes available to owners?
Owners may request minutes of council meetings. In camera decisions should be recorded in a form that can be released: lot numbers, decision and vote, without personal details.
Can council discuss a contract in camera?
Not on that ground alone. Contract decisions are ordinary business owners may observe.
Does the strata manager leave during in camera items?
That is up to council. The manager usually stays unless the item concerns the manager.
Can an owner attend their own hearing?
Yes. The hearing is the owner's opportunity to be heard. It is other observers who are excluded.
Private items, recorded the right way
StrataMinutes prepares your minutes with in camera items written in privacy-safe wording: the lot number, the decision and the vote, and nothing that should stay in the room.
Free for 30 days, then $29 a month. Cancel anytime.
For a 30-lot strata, that is under $1 a lot each month. Have the strata pay: free council approval kit.
This page is general information for BC strata corporations, not legal advice. Your strata's own filed bylaws may differ from the Standard Bylaws. See the current text of the Strata Property Act and the Strata Property Regulation on BC Laws.
Related guides
Observers
Council Hearings
Minutes and Privacy
What Not to Put in Minutes
Privacy and PIPA
Council Code of Conduct