The AGM checklist: eight weeks that run themselves

AGM season rewards councils that plan backwards. Section 40 of the Strata Property Act requires the annual general meeting no later than two months after the fiscal year end, and everything else hangs off that date. Here is the season as a checklist, in the order the deadlines actually bite.

Weeks 1 to 8 after year end: the paperwork

• Financial statement. The regulation requires it within eight weeks of fiscal year end, showing opening and closing balances for the operating fund and contingency reserve fund, income by source, expenditures from each fund, and any special levy accounting. Our guide to AGM financial statements covers the contents.
• Proposed budget. Prepared alongside the statement; both must go out with the AGM notice under section 45. See the annual budget guide.
• Resolutions. Gather council resolutions and any owner-submitted items. Three quarter vote resolutions need their proposed wording in the notice, so final text is due before the notice, not before the meeting.
• Insurance and depreciation review. Confirm the insurance summary is current and check where your strata sits in the five year depreciation report cycle.

Notice day: two weeks plus four days

• Count back at least 18 days from the meeting if notice goes by mail or email: two weeks of notice under section 45 plus four days deemed receipt under section 61. Late notice is the classic AGM defect; our notice requirements guide has the details.
• The package: date, time, place, agenda with every matter to be voted on, full wording of three quarter resolutions, the budget, the financial statement, and a proxy form.

Meeting week

• Prepare the registration list and count eligible votes. Quorum for a general meeting is one third of eligible votes under section 48, in person or by proxy.
• Script the chair: call to order, quorum statement, proof of notice, minutes of the last AGM, reports, budget, resolutions, election of council, adjournment.
• Assign a minute taker who is not chairing. Registration numbers, exact resolution wording, vote results, and election results all belong in the record. Our AGM minutes guide shows the standard.

The two weeks after

• Council elects officers at its first meeting after the AGM.
• Finish and distribute the minutes. General meeting minutes fall under the same record-keeping rules as council minutes, and prompt distribution is what owners judge the new council by first.
• File the new budget, update the strata's records, and diarize next year's dates while the lessons are fresh.

None of this is difficult in isolation. What sinks volunteer councils is discovering the eight week statement deadline and the 18 day notice runway in the same week. Put the whole checklist in the calendar the day the fiscal year closes and the season runs itself.

This page is general information for BC strata councils, not legal advice. Always check your strata's registered bylaws. See sections 40, 45, 48, and 61 of the Strata Property Act, Part 4 and the Strata Property Regulation on BC Laws.

Related guides

AGM Minutes
Financial Statements
Meeting Notice
Annual Budget