Can you record a strata meeting in BC?
A recording makes the minutes easier to write and harder to dispute. It also creates a record of everything everyone said. Here is how BC stratas handle both sides of that.
Last reviewed November 10, 2026, against the current Strata Property Act, Strata Property Regulation and Standard Bylaws on BC Laws.
The short answer
Yes, a strata council can record its meetings, and the Strata Property Act does not prohibit it. Because a recording captures personal information, the strata corporation should tell everyone before recording starts, say what the recording is for, limit who can hear it, and delete it once the minutes are approved, in line with BC's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA). Many stratas put this in a bylaw or rule. The recording does not replace the minutes: written minutes are still required under section 35.
What the law says
The Strata Property Act, the Regulation and the Standard Bylaws say nothing about recording meetings. That leaves three other sources.
- Privacy law. A strata corporation is an organization under PIPA. Voices, names and opinions on a recording are personal information, so the strata needs a reasonable purpose, must tell people what that purpose is, and must safeguard and eventually destroy the recording.
- The Criminal Code. In Canada it is generally not an offence to record a conversation you are part of. That is why an individual who records a meeting they attend is not usually committing a crime. It does not make secret recording a good idea, and it does not settle the privacy question for the strata corporation.
- Your bylaws and rules. A strata may adopt a bylaw permitting or prohibiting recording of its meetings, and many have.
The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for BC publishes privacy guidance for strata corporations that addresses recording of meetings. It is worth reading before adopting a policy.
Recording by council, for minute taking
This is the common case and the easiest to justify. A sensible practice looks like this:
- Decide it by motion and record the motion in the minutes, or adopt a bylaw.
- Announce it at the start of every meeting: that the meeting is being recorded, and that the purpose is to prepare accurate minutes.
- Stop recording for private items, such as bylaw hearings and matters involving an individual's privacy.
- Restrict access to the person preparing the minutes.
- Delete the recording when the minutes are approved at the next meeting, and note that the practice is followed.
Sample motion: MOVED and SECONDED that council meetings be audio recorded for the sole purpose of preparing accurate minutes, that attendees be informed at the start of each meeting, and that each recording be deleted once the minutes of that meeting are approved. CARRIED (5 in favour, 0 opposed).
StrataMinutes can take this off your plate. Already recording your meetings? Upload the audio and receive complete written minutes, with every motion and vote set out, in place of an evening of replaying and typing.
Recording by owners or observers
Owners may attend council meetings as observers under Standard Bylaw 17, and tenants and occupants may attend general meetings under Standard Bylaw 26. Whether they may record is a matter for the strata's bylaws and the chair. Without a bylaw, a chair can ask that recording stop, and the meeting can decide by majority how it wishes to proceed, but enforcement is weak. If recording by attendees is a concern, the durable answer is a bylaw passed by a 3/4 vote and filed at the Land Title Office. See how to amend bylaws.
Secret recordings do turn up as evidence in disputes. Tribunals decide case by case whether to consider them. The safest assumption for everyone in the room is that what they say could be heard again.
Recording annual and special general meetings
General meetings are larger and the privacy stakes are higher, because owners speak about their own units and finances. The same steps apply: put it in the notice or announce it at the start, state the purpose, and delete after approval. For electronic meetings, the platform's record button makes it easy to record without thinking. The decision should still be made deliberately. See electronic meetings.
Is the recording a strata record?
Section 35 lists the records a strata corporation must prepare and keep. Minutes are on the list. Recordings are not. A recording made only as a note-taking aid, and deleted under a consistent practice, is treated by most stratas as a working document rather than a record owners may demand. Keeping recordings indefinitely changes the picture: under PIPA an individual can request access to their own personal information held by an organization, and a library of old recordings is a liability. Decide the retention period, write it down, and follow it.
From recording to minutes
A recording does not shorten the writing by much on its own. An hour of meeting takes two to three hours to replay and type. What helps is working from the recording straight to the format the Act requires: attendance, items, motions, votes, actions. If you would rather not do that part, our recording to minutes service takes the audio file and returns the finished document.
Questions councils and owners ask
Is it legal to record a strata council meeting in BC?
Yes. Nothing in the Strata Property Act prohibits it. The strata corporation should comply with PIPA by giving notice, stating the purpose, protecting the recording and deleting it when no longer needed.
Can an owner record a meeting without telling anyone?
Recording a conversation you take part in is generally not a criminal offence in Canada, but a strata bylaw may prohibit it, and it damages trust. Ask the chair first.
Do recordings have to be given to owners who ask?
Recordings are not among the records listed in section 35. An individual may have access rights to their own personal information under PIPA. A clear delete-after-approval practice avoids most disputes.
Does a recording replace written minutes?
No. The strata must prepare written minutes that include the results of votes.
How long should a strata keep meeting recordings?
Only as long as needed for the stated purpose. For minute taking, that is until the minutes are approved.
Turn the recording into finished minutes
Upload your meeting audio and StrataMinutes prepares complete, properly formatted minutes from it. Audio is $25 for the first hour of recording and $10 for each additional hour, on top of your membership.
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
Recording to Minutes
Minute-Taking Guide
Privacy and PIPA
Minutes and Privacy
Electronic Meetings
In Camera Council Meetings