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How to file a bylaw complaint with your strata

Nothing happens under the Act until someone complains. A clear written complaint is what starts the enforcement process, and a vague one is the main reason councils do nothing.

Last reviewed November 10, 2026, against the current Strata Property Act, Strata Property Regulation and Standard Bylaws on BC Laws.

The short answer

To file a bylaw complaint in a BC strata, write to the strata council or manager naming the bylaw or rule, describing what happened, where and when, and attaching any evidence. The strata cannot fine anyone unless it has received a complaint (Strata Property Act, section 135). Council must then deal with it reasonably: investigate, give the other person written particulars and a chance to answer, and decide. Your name may not stay confidential.

Before you complain

  • Find the bylaw. Read the strata's filed bylaws and rules. If there is no bylaw or rule against what bothers you, council has nothing to enforce. See how to get strata bylaws.
  • Consider a word with your neighbour. A polite conversation resolves many problems and keeps the relationship intact.
  • Gather facts. Dates, times, what you saw or heard, photos, and the names of anyone else affected.
  • Check it is a strata matter. Bylaws cover use of strata lots and common property. A purely private dispute, such as a debt between neighbours, is not council's to resolve.

What to put in the complaint

  1. Your name, strata lot and contact details.
  2. Who or which unit the complaint is about, if you know.
  3. The bylaw or rule you believe has been contravened, by number.
  4. What happened: dates, times, places, in plain factual language.
  5. Evidence: a log, photos, video, messages, witnesses.
  6. The effect on you or on the common property.
  7. What you are asking for: that council investigate and enforce the bylaw.

Keep it to facts. Leave out opinions about the person's character and anything you would not want them to read, because they may.

Sample complaint

To the Strata Council, The Owners, Strata Plan VIS 1234:

I am the owner of strata lot 15 (unit 302). I wish to make a complaint under the bylaws about noise from the unit directly above mine (unit 402).

Bylaw 3(1)(b) prohibits using a strata lot in a way that causes unreasonable noise. On the dates in the attached log (11 occasions between April 2 and April 28, 2026), loud amplified music was played between 11:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m. I spoke with the occupant on April 6 and the noise has continued. Two short recordings are attached.

I ask that council investigate this complaint and enforce the bylaw. I am willing to have a council member attend my unit to hear the noise.

[Name, date]

StrataMinutes can take this off your plate. Bylaw decisions only hold up when the minutes show the complaint, the hearing and the vote. We prepare those minutes from your notes. Your first month is free.

Where to send it

Give it to the strata corporation by a method that can be proven: email to the strata manager or the council's address, or delivery to a council member. Keep a copy and note the date. Correspondence received by the strata is a record it must keep (section 35).

What council must do

Council's duties include enforcing the bylaws and rules (section 26). In practice that means:

  1. Consider the complaint at a council meeting or through whoever council has asked to look into it.
  2. Investigate as the circumstances require.
  3. If there appears to be a contravention, give the person the particulars in writing and a reasonable opportunity to answer, including a hearing if they request one. If the person is a tenant, the landlord and owner are notified as well.
  4. Decide at a council meeting: no contravention, a warning, time to comply, a fine, remedying the contravention at the person's cost, or denial of a related recreational facility.
  5. Give written notice of the decision to the person complained about.

Council is not required to fine. It may reasonably decide there was no contravention, or that a warning is enough. What it may not do is ignore a credible complaint. A council member who is the subject of a complaint must not take part in the decision (section 136). See bylaw enforcement.

Will you be told the outcome?

The Act requires notice of the decision to the person complained about, not to the complainant. Most councils will tell you that the matter has been dealt with. They may not tell you the details, for privacy reasons. If you hear nothing in a few weeks, ask in writing what stage the complaint has reached.

Confidentiality and anonymous complaints

  • Anonymous complaints are hard to act on, because council cannot test the facts and the other person cannot answer an unknown accuser.
  • Confidential complaints are possible, but council cannot guarantee your identity will stay private. The person is entitled to particulars sufficient to answer, which in many cases reveals the source. Complaint letters are also correspondence that owners may request, subject to privacy law.
  • If you fear retaliation, say so in the complaint and ask council to withhold your name as far as it can.
  • Council members and the manager can themselves be the complainant where they witnessed the contravention.

If nothing happens

  1. Follow up in writing after two or three weeks.
  2. Request a hearing under section 34.1. Council must hold a council meeting to hear you within four weeks, and give a written decision within one week if you asked for a decision.
  3. Check the minutes for any record of your complaint.
  4. Apply to the Civil Resolution Tribunal for an order that the strata enforce its bylaws. The tribunal has ordered stratas to act, and in some cases to pay damages, where reasonable complaints were ignored.

See when council does not respond.

Tips that get results

  • One complaint, one issue.
  • A dated log is worth more than adjectives.
  • Offer council the chance to see or hear the problem.
  • Stay civil in every message.
  • Keep complaining in writing if it continues. Each incident is new evidence.

Questions councils and owners ask

Who do I complain to about a strata bylaw violation?

The strata council, usually through the strata manager or the council's email address, in writing.

Does the strata have to act on my complaint?

It must deal with it reasonably, which includes investigating. It is not obliged to impose a fine.

Will my neighbour find out I complained?

Possibly. Council can try to protect your identity but cannot guarantee it.

Can I complain about a council member?

Yes. That member must not take part in the decision about the complaint.

How long does the strata have to deal with a complaint?

The Act sets no deadline for complaints. A hearing you request under section 34.1 must be held within four weeks.

Is council recording complaints properly?

A well-run strata's minutes show each complaint considered and decided. Upload a set to our free report card to see how yours compare.

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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

Bylaw Enforcement
Noise Complaints
When Council Does Not Respond
Strata Fines
Writing to Strata Council
Bylaw Violation Letters