Emergency repairs: when a BC strata can spend without a vote
The pipe has burst, the parkade is flooding and the AGM is nine months away. The Act expects council to act. It also expects council to stop once the emergency is under control.
Last reviewed November 10, 2026, against the current Strata Property Act, Strata Property Regulation and Standard Bylaws on BC Laws.
The short answer
Under section 98(3) of the Strata Property Act, a strata corporation may spend from the operating fund or the contingency reserve fund without prior approval if there are reasonable grounds to believe an immediate expenditure is necessary to ensure safety or prevent significant loss or damage. The spending must not exceed the minimum amount needed, and the strata must inform owners as soon as feasible. Permanent repairs beyond the emergency need approval in the usual way.
The legal test
Section 98(3) has three parts.
- Reasonable grounds to believe. Council does not have to be right in hindsight. It must have had reasonable grounds at the time.
- An immediate expenditure is necessary. The spending cannot wait for a general meeting, which takes at least two weeks' notice plus delivery time.
- To ensure safety or prevent significant loss or damage, whether physical or otherwise. "Or otherwise" extends to non-physical loss. The Act specifically includes obtaining and maintaining the insurance the strata is required to carry (section 98(3.1)).
Then two limits:
- Minimum amount. The expenditure must not exceed the minimum needed to ensure safety or prevent significant loss or damage (section 98(5)).
- Inform owners as soon as feasible (section 98(6)).
What usually qualifies, and what does not
| Likely an emergency | Likely not |
|---|---|
| Stopping an active leak and drying affected areas | Re-piping the building after the leak is contained |
| Securing a failed gate or broken entry door | Upgrading the access system |
| Shoring up a retaining wall an engineer says may fail | Rebuilding the wall to a new design |
| Removing a dangerous tree after a storm | Routine tree pruning |
| Restoring heat in winter or a failed elevator in a building with residents who cannot use stairs | Replacing equipment that is old but working |
| Paying the insurance premium when the renewal jumps unexpectedly | Buying optional coverage |
The pattern: stop the harm, make it safe, stabilize. The permanent fix goes to the owners, unless delay would itself cause significant loss.
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Who can authorize it
Council decides. An emergency meeting can be called on short notice if all council members consent, or, where the meeting is required to deal with an emergency, if all members either consent or are unavailable after reasonable attempts to reach them (Standard Bylaw 14). It can be held by phone or video (Standard Bylaw 17).
If even that is too slow, Standard Bylaw 21 lets a council member spend the strata's money to repair or replace common property or common assets if the repair or replacement is immediately required to ensure safety or prevent significant loss or damage. A strata manager's authority to act in an emergency is set by the management contract and council's delegation.
What to do, in order
- Make it safe. Shut off water, call emergency services or the restoration company, protect people.
- Call the insurer or broker if there may be a claim.
- Convene council, even by phone, the same day or the next.
- Authorize the minimum by motion: who, what, estimated cost, which fund.
- Document: photos, the contractor's assessment, the reason it could not wait.
- Inform owners promptly: what happened, what was spent, from which fund, what comes next.
- Plan the permanent repair and its approval.
- Report it in the financial statement as an unapproved expenditure under section 98 (Regulation 6.7).
Sample minute wording: Council met by telephone at 7:30 p.m. on January 14, all members consenting to short notice, following the failure of the domestic water riser serving units 201 to 601. On the plumber's advice that continued leakage would cause significant damage to five units, it was MOVED and SECONDED that council authorize emergency repair of the riser by Coast Mechanical at an estimated cost of $8,400 plus GST, as an expenditure under section 98(3) of the Strata Property Act, paid from the contingency reserve fund, and that owners be informed by notice tomorrow. CARRIED (4 in favour, 0 opposed).
Which fund pays
Section 98(3) permits either fund. Use the operating fund where the budget has room, and the contingency reserve fund for larger amounts. If the event is insured, the strata pays the deductible. Approval is not required for a special levy or reserve fund expenditure to cover an insurance deductible the strata must pay to repair or replace damaged property (section 158). The strata may later seek to recover a deductible from an owner who is responsible for the loss. See insurance deductibles.
If the reserve fund is too low and money must be raised, a special levy needs a 3/4 vote. Where a levy for repairs necessary for safety or to prevent significant loss or damage gets more than half but less than 3/4 of the votes, the strata may apply to the Supreme Court within 90 days for an order approving it (section 173).
After the emergency
Owners will ask whether it was truly urgent and whether the price was fair. A short written report answers both: the timeline, the advice received, the cost, and what remains to be done with its estimated cost. Then bring the permanent work to a general meeting. See reserve fund spending rules.
Questions councils and owners ask
Can a strata council spend from the contingency reserve fund in an emergency?
Yes, under section 98(3), if an immediate expenditure is necessary to ensure safety or prevent significant loss or damage, and only for the minimum amount needed.
Does council need a meeting to approve an emergency repair?
A short meeting is best. Under Standard Bylaw 21 a council member may also act alone where a repair is immediately required for safety or to prevent significant loss or damage.
How soon must owners be told?
As soon as feasible after the expenditure.
Can the whole repair be done as an emergency?
Only so far as immediate action is necessary. Work that can wait for a general meeting should be approved by the owners.
Is a big insurance premium increase an emergency?
The Act expressly treats obtaining and maintaining required insurance as preventing significant loss.
Record the emergency while it is fresh
An emergency expenditure is judged later on what council knew and why it acted. StrataMinutes prepares the minutes of your emergency meeting from brief notes, the same day.
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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
Council Spending Limits
Reserve Fund Spending Rules
Water Damage Responsibility
Insurance Deductibles
Hiring Contractors
Council Email Voting