Removing a council member without creating a second dispute
Council members are elected by the owners, and only the owners can remove them. The process is short, but every step of it ends up in the minutes.
Sooner or later most stratas face it: a council member who has stopped attending, oversteps, or has lost the building's confidence. The removal power belongs to the owners, not to the rest of council, and using the right process matters more here than almost anywhere else, because removals are exactly the kind of decision that gets challenged.
The rule: majority vote at a general meeting
Under Standard Bylaw 11, the strata corporation may remove one or more council members by a resolution passed by a majority vote at an annual or special general meeting. Unless the bylaws say otherwise, the same meeting then elects a replacement to serve out the term. Council itself cannot vote a colleague off under the Standard Bylaws; it takes the owners. Check your registered bylaws first, because removal provisions are sometimes amended.
Getting it on an agenda
There are two roads to the vote. Council can put the resolution on the agenda of the next general meeting. Or owners holding at least 20 percent of the strata corporation's votes can demand a special general meeting under section 43, which must then be held within four weeks. Either way, section 45 requires the notice to describe the matter to be voted on, so the resolution must be named plainly in the notice. A removal sprung from the floor of a meeting whose notice never mentioned it is an invitation to a tribunal claim; our notice guide covers the timelines.
Running the vote
The meeting needs quorum, one third of eligible votes under section 48, and the resolution passes on a simple majority of the votes cast. The person facing removal is still an owner: they vote, they may speak, and basic fairness suggests letting them. The minutes record the exact resolution wording and the result, and nothing else: "MOTION: that J. Doe be removed from the strata council pursuant to Bylaw 11. CARRIED, 24 in favour, 9 opposed. MOTION: that P. Singh be elected to council for the remainder of the term. CARRIED." Keep the grievances out of the record; the vote speaks for itself, and anything more becomes the exhibit in the next dispute. Our privacy guide explains why.
Resignations and disappearances
Removal is not always needed. Under Standard Bylaw 12, if a member resigns or is unwilling or unable to act for two or more months, the remaining council members may appoint a replacement for the rest of the term. For the member who moved away or simply stopped answering, the appointment route is quicker and kinder than a public vote, and it gets minuted in one line at the next council meeting.
Let us handle the minutes themselves
StrataMinutes turns your council's rough notes into complete, professionally formatted minutes that meet the requirements of the Strata Property Act, usually within minutes. Every document comes with a compliance checklist.
No payment details needed for your first council meeting.
This page is general information for BC strata councils, not legal advice. Always check your strata's registered bylaws. See Standard Bylaws 11 and 12 and sections 43, 45, and 48 of the Strata Property Act, Part 4 on BC Laws.