The duplex problem: small stratas have the same rulebook
Two neighbours who get along can run a strata on a handshake for years. The handshake fails exactly when the records are needed most: a sale, a falling out, or an insurance claim.
Thousands of BC stratas are duplexes, triplexes, and small buildings with a handful of lots and no property manager. The Strata Property Act does not have a casual mode for them. A two lot strata is a strata corporation with the same core duties as a two hundred lot tower: minutes, records, meetings, budgets, and insurance. What the law does offer small stratas is a simpler structure, and what practice offers is a lighter way to comply.
What changes when you are tiny
Under Standard Bylaw 9, a council normally has three to seven members, but if the strata plan has fewer than four strata lots or the corporation has fewer than four owners, all the owners are on the council. In a duplex, both owners simply are the council, and a council meeting is the two of you deciding something. The regulation also exempts stratas with fewer than five lots from the depreciation report requirement, though nothing stops a small strata from getting one; see our depreciation report guide.
What never changes
Section 35 record-keeping applies in full: minutes of council and general meetings, books of account, correspondence, and the rest, with minutes kept at least six years. The two week rule for informing owners of council minutes applies, even when the owners were both in the room. The AGM must still happen no later than two months after fiscal year end under section 40, with a budget and financial statement. And when a lot sells, the buyer's lawyer will request a Form B and two years of minutes, which is the moment a handshake strata discovers it has no records to produce.
Why the paper matters more with two owners
In a big strata, a missing set of minutes is an inconvenience. In a duplex, the minutes are usually the only evidence of who agreed to split the roof cost, when the shared drain was last serviced, and whether the fence was authorized. Small stratas also produce a disproportionate share of Civil Resolution Tribunal disputes precisely because everything was verbal until the relationship soured. Ten minutes of writing after each decision is the cheapest insurance a small strata can buy; our guide to minutes as evidence shows what a tribunal looks for.
A workable rhythm for a small strata
Meet quarterly, or whenever a real decision is needed. Use a standing agenda, record decisions as motions with both names, note the account balances, and file the minutes in a shared folder the same week. Once a year, hold the AGM properly: notice, budget, financial statement, minutes. Our free minutes template works at duplex scale, and if neither owner wants the secretary job, sending rough notes to a preparation service keeps the record professional for a few dollars a 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 Bylaw 9, sections 35 and 40 of the Strata Property Act, and the Strata Property Regulation on BC Laws.
Related guides
Self-Managed Stratas
Minutes Template
Form B Certificate
Records Retention